III: A Flame Before the Wind
by Jayme F. Midorikawa
Summary: The third installment of my Zootopia series. Set one year after the end of Leaving the Past. The sudden investigation of a series of arsons across the city will provide Judy and Nick's greatest challenge yet; uncovering a conspiracy that will dredge up some preferably forgotten mistakes of the past.
1. Routine

**Well everyone, I'm back. And here we begin the third entry into my Zootopia series. We finally get back into the groove of things by finally following Judy and Nick on their first major case since the Night Howler's incident. Now, I need you all to know, the previous two stories, I pretty much had those plotted out from the beginning. Here, I'm struggling with a bit of how to fill in the middle, since I know how I want to end this. As such, I need some more time to figure out what I want to do chapter-by-chapter, so with that, it would be for the best if you all expect there to be a bit more time to pass between the chapters I put up, instead of my once-a-week routine I had going.**

 **Anyway, I don't want to cause any potential spoilers, so let's get started.**

 **Zootopia and its characters do not belong to me, they belong to Disney.**

"Officially marking the one year anniversary of Leodore Lionheart's reinstatement as mayor of Zootopia, the upcoming elections for City Senator are already well underway. In spite of his approval ratings with the city populace, Mayor Lionheart has declined any rumors that he will be pushing for the position, instead extending a wish of good luck to the major candidates; the most unexpected being former Zootopia Fire Department Superintendent and now current Minister of Public Safety, Viktor Bullba. A long time civil servant; highly decorated firefighting veteran and long-time advocate for public safety, Mr. Bullba has already started gaining considerable popularity among the general public for his oath to ensure Zootopia is a truly safe and sustainable city for all its citizens. With the primary nominations only a month away, many citizens are expressing their hopes that—"

The image of Peter Moosebridge on the living room TV cut to black as Nick Wilde tossed the remote to the table and collapsed tiredly onto the sofa, definitely less than willing to face yet another day of hard work as a beat cop.

"Wow, real mature, Nick. You know I was watching that," that familiar yet endlessly sweet-sounding voice of Judy Hopps rang pleasantly in his ears; instantly perking him right back up as he quickly sat himself up to look his favorite bunny in the eye.

Even after a whole year of being together as a couple, she never stopped looking nothing less than radiant and gorgeous when the early morning sun shone behind her like it did right now, and those loving violet eyes never lost their luster as she lay back casually opposite him while playfully trying to tickle his feet with her own; the big smile of amusement on her face making it hard for him to keep from even chuckling.

"Ah, watching the news is for the elderly, Carrots. Besides, you don't really care about all this political nonsense, do you?" he asked sarcastically as he tried to fight back; earning a pleasant laugh from his girlfriend as she happily hopped off the sofa; making a beeline for their shared bedroom, no doubt to get into uniform. She always was up before him no matter how early it was, so if she was already doing it, he realized he couldn't afford to be too far behind.

"Well, not personally, no. I just feel it pays to be informed. Besides, you can't deny the idea of someone who's primary concern is public safety being put somewhere so influential doesn't at least have SOME pleasant rings to it," Judy instinctively asked as Nick just rolled his eyes. She knew he wouldn't say no to that. Heck, the idea sounded like it would make their jobs as ZPD officers just a tiny bit less demanding, and the less time they had Chief Bogo breathing down their necks from being so tightly wound up, the better.

Of course, they both could feel that with such a huge change in the city hierarchy coming up, there were bound to be a few unpleasantries coming up. It was typical with these kinds of big upcoming events: ne'er-do-wells taking advantage of the city-wide distractions to go looting or whatnot. So if anything, just knowing it could all potentially go away within the month gave their future work a certain 'calm before the storm' kind of a feel.

"Well, no. It just doesn't seem like a former firefighter would have that much necessary government experience, at least as far as I'm concerned. But hey, better that than some reality show host or business-mammal, right?" he asked rhetorically while Judy had just finished getting her uniform on as well; both of them looking as professional as they did every day in the mirror before already making their way out to face yet another brand new day.

 **Later at the ZPD…**

The atmosphere in the bullpen had been as it always was, as rowdy and jovial as a high school locker room, especially among the larger predators with their constant joking and arm wrestling. Thankfully there hadn't been any fellow discussions among the more veteran officers regarding what was going to most likely be taking up their times in the upcoming month. They must've had the good grace to know that religion and politics were the fastest way to lose their friends around the office.

And just as usual, everyone shut up and was straight at attention once Chief Bogo had made his entrance to give out the daily assignments. In the past year, the almost dull lack of even average daily crimes to attend to had finally subsided, so now the ZPD could look forward to days consisting of more than just jaywalking, parking tickets, and the occasional pickpocket.

"Now, before you all head out to your assignments, I feel now is as opportune a time as ever to let you know, there's a possibility not only of some elevated levels of activity for us to attend to in the coming month with the elections coming up, it's just to be expected the populace in some areas may get riled up; thus allowing the local hooligans to virtually do as they please, so it would be best for you all to start getting back on you're a-Game on the field, though for your sakes you better not have been letting yourselves get rusty in my precinct to begin with. However, with this all being said, another announcement that needs to be made will be regarding the inauguration event to come once a nominee has been elected. The veterans among you may recognize just what a huge event this is, and how tight security needs to be based on the reactions of the public, so don't be surprised if a good number of you are picked for personal security detail once that time comes. Is that all understood, you lot?"

There was a resounding confirming of "YES, SIR" among the officers before the ZPD chief had finally motioned for them all to go about their duty. In the case of Nick and Judy, as they'd come to expect, he'd placed them on average street patrol in the Rainforest District again. No complaints among either of them, though. Anything was better than parking duty.

"And here I was hoping we'd be able to keep from listening to all that bureaucratic gibberish at the office if nowhere else," Nick already started the trip mildly complaining as Judy began to drive them down the most direct route she'd come to know. Funny how in the space of only two years, she'd managed to find the best shortcuts in such a colossal city.

"You don't really think that would've been the case, right? To serve and protect, that's our job; and as much as you may not like to hear it, even the bigwigs need our protection sometimes, too," she explained as if it were the most common knowledge while Nick just lay back and enjoyed the passing view.

"Yeah, I know that. I guess when you spend as much time lying for a living like I did, you start to notice the especially good ones everyone else somehow doesn't," the fox relented as Judy couldn't help but instinctually giggle to herself. Even after all this time, he still reflected on his times as a con-fox so readily. A part of her would've almost been concerned if she hadn't seen his resultant street smarts get them out of so many pinches before.

"You do realize we might possibly get picked for that security detail next month, right?" she immediately asked; nearly making Nick involuntarily cringe; of all the things for him to overlook in his current state of semi-cynicism.

"Yeah, I guess that's just to be expected with how good we are at this job. I just really don't like the idea of being given false praise from someone who really looks down his snout at me," Nick relented while still taking the chance to get his point across. By now, they'd finally crossed the border into the Rainforest District; the never-ending rainfall from the irrigation system overhead accompanied by the late morning sunlight through the canopy making it just as beautiful as ever.

"Well, look at it like this, Nick. I'm not saying you have to like it. Privilege aside, I'm not completely wild with the idea either, but at least if they're as good at giving fake praise, you're just as good if not better at faking gratitude for it," Judy soon managed to reason with her partner; bringing a slightly-grateful looking smirk to his face. Even after two whole years, she never lost that talent for saying exactly what he needed to hear.

"Ah, you know me so well, Carrots. But you know, you've gotten pretty good at faking a lot these days too," he agreed while the bunny gave him a very smug-looking grin.

"Well, I had the best teacher, remember? Sometimes I still don't know sometimes if what you say is true or not," she humored him while continuing to drive into the bigger city section of the district.

As she began to slow down, she suddenly felt one of Nick's paws against the back of her little fuzzy head before quickly pulling himself over to her and placing the briefest kiss on the top of her head; nearly making all her fur stand on end as she nearly stomped on the brakes and brought their patrol car to a screeching halt.

"Nick, are you out of your mind?! Now? Seriously?" Judy hissed while her eyes were darting this way and that in the hopes no bystanders nearby were looking; that self-satisfied grin on Nick's face far from helping soothe her nerves.

"Hey, we started the morning off in a hurry, and Officer Wilde never likes to start the day without his morning dose of CARROTS, remember?" Nick said in the most frustratingly teasing tone while Judy once again gave an instinctive groan at his horrible idea of sweet-talking.

"Okay, the cringe-worthy flirting isn't gonna get you off the hook this time, dumb fox. You know we aren't supposed to do that while on the job. What if somebody saw us? It'd end up online in next to no time," Judy continued to scold her partner while he just let out a heavy sigh before leaning back into the passenger seat.

"Yeah, yeah; I know, Carrots, I know. I'm sorry. You just look so cute these days when you compliment me," he apologized while still not losing that clearly sarcastic ring in his voice.

"Thin ice, Nick; really thin ice. Seriously now, I know you know better, so where did that all come from?" the little bunny still remained so dead serious as she spoke, even though she clearly wasn't looking him in the eye so he couldn't see her naturally blushing once he called her 'cute'. These days she mainly reprimanded him for it just to humor him.

"Well, like you said, sometimes you can't tell if some things I say are for real or not. I thought it'd be nice to mess with that little country bunny head of yours. Did I mean everything behind that kiss, or was it just a ruse? You decide," Nick went on to explain himself; loving the look of frustration and amusement on Judy's face. Clearly she was already regretting sharing so much, but that's what made teasing her so much fun even to this day.

"Oh, that's cheap, Nick. Don't think I'm gonna forget this," she muttered under her breath while Nick chuckled to himself. He knew far too well she was a bunny who stuck to her word, so he knew this was going to be a day of watching his back around her. What more could he have asked for to get himself back in a good mood?

The next ten minutes of patrolling the streets of the inner Rainforest District went by in silence, with Judy refusing to even glance at her partner lest he come up with anything else to put her further on edge. As for Nick, he knew how serious their secrecy was to her, so he couldn't blame her for reacting like she did, but by now even he was starting to regret his inability to keep his teasing habits in check.

However, it wasn't too long afterwards when they were driving down an especially empty street that a momentary glance on Nick's part suddenly gave him the perfect answer to get his Judy's spirits back up.

"Hey, Carrots; remember that report of all the missing ATM's throughout the city a couple days back?" he immediately asked, and while he was still being given the silent treatment, he could tell from her perked ears that he had her full attention.

"Well, I think I just found our culprit right down there," the fox finally said as he motioned for Judy to follow his pointing claw down a nearby sidewalk to find a single brown van with its rear doors open and a loading ramp unfolded, and currently in the middle of hoisting another ATM onto a wheelbarrow was none other than the two partners' old 'friend' Duke Weaselton.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Doesn't he EVER learn?" Judy mainly asked herself as she began to back their patrol car up so the sly little crook wouldn't spot them. The mischievous grin that was now on her face told Nick everything; they were gonna get the drop on the weasel just like last time.

"Aw, admit it, Carrots; if he did, where would the fun be in seeing him again?" Nick asked; knowing she couldn't rightly argue with him there. Once again back in perfect sync with each other, the two stepped out and proceeded to make their way side by side to pay their old 'friend' a surprise visit.

The further they went, the more they could see the scrawny weasel struggling to keep the weight of the ATM from falling back on him, and with his back turned, it didn't look like he could even hear them. The excited smirk on Nick's face was pretty much screaming for Judy to let him get the first line; to which she couldn't resist but give him a little curtsy as if to say 'go right ahead.'

"Well, well, well; graduated from robbing flower shops and selling bootlegs to ATM theft. Aren't WE just moving on up in the world?" Nick asked almost boastfully, nearly causing Duke to jump three feet in the air as he spun on his heels; only for his fear to immediately turn to slow-boiling anger at the sight of his two least favorite mammals in the whole city.

"Oh, gimme a break, don't you two have any OTHER hardworkin' folks to harass?" Duke greeted them with a frustrated groan while Judy was immediately stepping in with that dead serious ZPD-mode look Nick had come to recognize all too well.

"Not sure if 'harass' is the word you're looking for, but I can't think of any other crooks who'd have the guts to try lifting ATM's in broad daylight, Wesselton," she immediately retorted while Duke only sneered and set the ATM back down.

"I already told you once before, Cottontail, it's pronounced WEASEL-ton! And come on, I gotta make a livin' just like everyone else! At least I stick to MY principals unlike your sellout partner here," the weasel snapped angrily before nodding his head towards Nick; the derisive look on his face showing he clearly didn't care if the fox could hear him or not.

"You know, it's not polite to talk about people like they aren't even there, Duke. I'd say you're quite lucky we caught you while on the job," nick said; pretending to sound as intimidating as was appropriate while the weasel didn't look to even be remotely scared.

"Yeah, what would ya do; ask that overgrown rodent Mr. Big to ice me again? I know how the system works, you flatfoots can't lay a paw on me," Duke tried to defend himself; an aggravating air of overconfidence practically radiating from him as he crossed his arms like that was that. Except for when he suddenly felt a pair of handcuffs getting slapped onto his wrists.

"It sounds like you watch a little too much TV. We aren't like those poor excuses that use the badge to harass others for their own gain. Despite what you might think, we caught you red-pawed in the middle of the act," Judy stated with a surprising personal sincerity; almost as if she'd personally been offended by what Duke had tried to suggest.

"Probable cause, Weaselton. Trust me, I know how it works," Nick piped in as he began to step forward to start bringing the weasel to the car.

"*sigh* I should've known today felt too good to be true," Duke muttered mostly to himself; just before he suddenly jumped back and kicked the back of the large ATM, sending it toppling forward toward Nick and Judy before they simultaneously jumped out of the way as it crashed. By the time they began to get back up; the screeching of tires grabbed their attention as Duke's van began to peel forward with its rear doors still flapping open as he proceeded to make his escape.

Like a switch had been flipped, Nick and Judy made a beeline for the car; nearly jumping through their open door windows before the engine roared to life.

"Fire up the roof, partner," Judy ordered as she put her foot to the metal; their car nearly drifting around the corner as Nick sent the sirens blaring for all to hear; nearly sinking back into his seat with how fast they were already exceeding 50 mph.

"Officers Hopps and Wilde to Dispatch, Hopps and Wilde to Dispatch; we have a 505A in downtown Rainforest District! I repeat: a 505A in downtown Rainforest District! Suspect is driving a brown van with its rear doors open; currently on Baobab Boulevard! Requesting backup! Attempting to apprehend," she stated hurriedly into the radio while Nick helped to steer, only just now finally starting to catch up on Weaselton's van as he was trying his best to weave around the thankfully sparse traffic.

"Just like the good old days, eh, Carrots?" Nick asked excitedly the more they began to gain on the getaway van. For such a big vehicle, Weaselton seemed to be handling it impressively well with all the tight turns he was managing to pull off to try and shake them off. Of course, what good would their team be on patrol if Judy didn't have just as much latent talent behind the wheel?

"Save the reminiscing for later, Nick! WESSELTON, PULL OVER! YOU KNOW THIS ISN'T GONNA END WELL OTHERWISE," Judy brushed her partner off before suddenly pulling the walkie-talkie connected to their car's loudspeaker off the hook to issue her warning. But shock of all shocks, the van seemed to only speed up even more while Judy struggled to keep control of the car now that they were starting to end up on the smaller streets.

"Hey, Duke, take some friendly advice, okay? I'd REALLY do what she says, pal. Trust me, you don't wanna see her when she's HOPPING mad," Nick piped in as he grabbed the walkie-talkie from Judy's paw so she could maintain control. Of course, the poor bunny nearly felt her whole body cringe as Nick even took the measure to lean in nice and close while delivering his worst pun to date. She didn't even need to look to feel that infuriating grin on his face. But she didn't dare even give him the satisfaction of even a fake amused grin. Right now, all she could focus on was bringing Weaselton to justice, and Nick's stubborn sense of humor was NOT helping.

"Nick, if you don't want to WALK home alone tonight, you'll either take the wheel or do something to make yourself REALLY useful RIGHT NOW," Judy stated in such a blunt and dead serious manner, Nick had to fight the urge to grin at how unnatural it sounded coming from one as little as her, but at the same time he didn't dare push her on this.

"Way ahead of you, partner," Nick assured her as he quickly reached underneath his seat and pulled out a small box labeled 'DART GUN' along it. Popping the lid open, inside was a foam mat with a single dart gun and a series of four darts lying side by side. Once Nick had the gun loaded he, he quickly unbuckled himself.

"Alright, just do me a favor and try and keep it steady, Carrots, okay?" Nick asked sarcastically as he began to climb halfway out the open window before proceeding to steady his aim for one of the van's tires. Despite his calm demeanor, truthfully the fox was sweating bullets. All Duke had to do was make one more sharp turn and Judy could unintentionally end up sending him flying out the window and to the hard unforgiving ground below. So all he could think to himself at this moment was to just continuously remind himself to trust in his partner now more than ever.

"This is your last warning, Wesselton! Pull over," Judy announced once more; and while still trying to weave through the traffic and keep from losing control, Duke practically felt his blood boiling.

"For the last time, it's pronounced WEASELTON! Now I KNOW you're just getting it wrong on purpose," Duke shouted back; not even caring if the cops would hear him or not, before he suddenly noticed in his side mirror that familiar fox leaning out the window and trying to aim for one of his tires.

' _Oh no, I ain't goin' to jail again, and ain't nobody gonna make me! Ugh, the things I gotta do to watch my back,'_ the weasel thought to himself in a panic while looking all around for anything he could use to at least shake his pursuers up a bit; until his eyes finally landed on the buckle for the straps he'd tied around the ATM's he'd already lifted to keep them from potentially breaking. It was with a heavy sigh that he understood what he now had to do to at least try and ensure his continued freedom. With great reluctance, he bid his newfound wealth goodbye and unlocked the buckle.

All at once, the nearly half dozen ATM's in Weaselton's van came tumbling out; crashing loudly as they bounced off the asphalt and went flipping and flying through the air; five 400-pound machines suddenly flying at breakneck speed for Judy and Nick's car. The rabbit at the wheel felt her eyes go wide as dinner plates and her heart catch in her throat in a fraction of a second as she instinctively spun the wheel away from the oncoming projectiles; an ear-piercing screeching of the tires all that could be heard as Nick nearly felt himself come flying out the window before grabbing the window frame for dear life.

Judy couldn't even maintain control of the car before it ended up spinning out onto a sidewalk and broadsided into a lamppost. Nick nearly collapsed back into the car; his heart racing a million miles per second while Judy's head was spinning endlessly from the impact. But once she was able to make out and remember where she was, she instantly remembered how one of the ATM's just seconds ago had been about to nail Nick right in the face; immediately driving the now petrified bunny to look and see her partner was still there in one piece and seemingly without a scratch.

"Nick, oh my god, are you okay?!" Judy asked in near hysterics as she suddenly pounced on her partner; holding onto him as if their lives depended on it while Nick was still too momentarily stunned by what an insanely close call he'd just had.

"Y-Yeah…uh, I think so. Nothing feels brok—" Nick finally began to say in reassurance once he'd regained his senses, only to be cut off when he felt Judy grab the collar of his uniform and suddenly meet him with a rapid series of emotional kisses all over his face as she was barely able to hold back the tears of sheer relief brimming in her eyes.

"Oh, Nick…I-I thought I was about to lose you back there. I…I," Judy struggled to find the words in between her desperate gasps for breath from all the adrenaline before Nick suddenly pulled her in and silenced her overly emotional rambling with a reassuring kiss of his own that seemed to calm her nerves all at once.

"Hey, I'm here and I'm okay, Carrots. Alright? That's not gonna change if I have anything to say about it. But still…wow, that was definitely one heck of a rush. Things keep going on like this, you're gonna have to consider saving my tail a second career," Nick gently reassured her before finally letting his own shock be made known while still chuckling nervously to himself.

"Oh, hush up; you just gotta keep on your guard from now on. Now c'mon, he's not getting away that easy," Judy stated with a wholly new burning determination as she quickly kicked the car back into gear, and soon they were rolling right back down the streets. By the time they found the back of Weaselton's van up ahead again, it nearly felt like the engine for the car was going to give out with how much Judy was putting on the gas in order to gain on him.

"Alright, let's try this again. Just try to keep it steady, Carrots, oka—WHOA," Nick began to ready himself with the dart gun again before Judy unexpectedly stomped on the gas even harder; sending her partner right back against his seat as the car lurched forward and actually rammed against the back of Weaselton's van.

"GAH! ARE YOU CRAZY, COTTONTAIL?! YOU ALREADY MADE ME DUMP MY RICHES SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE," Duke shouted back; clearly shaken up, but Judy wasn't letting up. Instead she just kept going faster and faster before ramming into the back of the van again; by now forcing Weaselton to struggle to maintain control while she was still riding right on his tail.

"Okay, Carrots, I think you've made your point. You can ease up now, I can take over from here," Nick tried to implore to his partner since by now eve he couldn't deny this was getting too extreme for his liking. But the frightening glare in Judy's gaze as she didn't take her eyes off the van seemed to say it all to Nick.

"If he thinks he's getting off that easy after what he almost did to you, he's got another thing coming," she stated angrily as she rammed into the van a third time; by now nearly sending it skidding out of control as Weaselton was trying so hard to keep up the speed.

"Carrots, seriously, you gotta calm down! He's not gonna get away, no matter what; but if you keep this up, you could end up killing him. Just ease up and let me finish up for us, okay?" Nick tried to reason with her as he placed a reassuring paw on her shoulder, and for a few lingering seconds he was starting to worry his partner was refusing to listen and instead choosing to stay angry. But when she actually spared the few seconds to look the fox in the eye, it was as if the serious look in his eyes thankfully said it all to her. While she clearly didn't want to let Weaselton off the hook so easily, her softening expression at least showed that Nick's feelings had gotten through to her. And with a reluctant sigh, she thankfully lightened up on the gas at least enough to where her partner could once more try to blow one of the tires out.

All the while, Duke Weaselton by now was sweating bullets of his own; trying desperately to catch his breath as he kept looking back in his rear mirrors to find those two insufferable cops still weren't letting up. But at least it didn't seem like they were trying to kill him anymore. For the few times he'd been face to face with that little cottontail, he didn't think she had it in her to nearly wanna kill someone, and right now to say he was more than shaken up was a huge understatement.

Suddenly, a deafening burst made his whole head ring as he suddenly found the van to be slowing down considerably, as well as suddenly being a lot harder to control. From a momentary glimpse of Nick Wilde in the side mirror reloading the dart gun in his paws, Duke immediately realized he'd just lost one of his wheels.

And it was in that fraction of a second of divided attention that another pair of ZPD patrol cars suddenly came roaring around the street corners up ahead; forming an impromptu blockade across the street, and the instant he saw them; sheer reflex forced him to steer the van as far to the right as possible; sending him right over a sidewalk and directly into the end of a concrete divider of a nearby construction site; stopping him and his van dead in their tracks.

While their newly arrived backup made short work of re-cuffing Weaselton and getting him into one of their cars, Judy and Nick watched the whole proceeding with their hearts both racing with sheer adrenaline now that their unexpected high-speed chase had just as suddenly come to an end.

"Well…how's THAT for the start of another perfect day, huh?" Nick finally worked up the courage to ask; still slightly shaken from his close call as well as seeing Judy nearly go semi-homicidal behind the wheel, while she herself still looked to be regaining all her senses before suddenly grabbing one of his paws tightly in her own; as if desperately needing to reassure herself her partner and boyfriend was in fact still here.

"I'm sorry, Nick. I…I-I don't know what came over me. I just couldn't stop…I couldn't stop thinking about what could've happened to you, and I—" Judy struggled to explain herself, still visibly shocked with herself just as much as her partner was before he pulled her into a comforting hug of support; which the two silently remained in for a good several minutes. Of course, by the end they both realized they basked in it for so long because they knew there was surely going to be a mountain of paperwork and a thorough Chief Bogo chewing out waiting for them by the end of the day.

 **Later that evening…**

"In other news, the recent string of ATM thefts that had been occurring over the last week throughout Zootopia has finally come to an end. Reports and witness testimonies from several ZPD officers on the scene of the latest crime confirm that the culprit is known felon Duke Weaselton. After a high-speed chase through the Rainforest District, Weaselton's getaway vehicle was subdued, and he is currently in holding; awaiting a future trial. Chief Bogo of the ZPD gave his assurances that Weaselton will not go unpunished, especially in light of this only being the latest in a string of crimes in which he has been involved, all relatively minor. In light of this recent undertaking by the ZPD, senatorial candidate Viktor Bullba held an unexpected press conference wherein he primarily expressed his gratitude to the officers responsible for bringing this known criminal to justice, as well as expressing his full support toward the ZPD in any future matters that may present considerable risk to the people of Zootopia."

Just as before, Peter Moosebridge's reading of the news was cut short as Nick had commenced his and Judy's weekly movie night; a considerable spring in his step after such an exciting, if not difficult day.

To say Chief Bogo had been less than pleased with the property damage resultant of their little car chase with Weaselton was a serious understatement. Frankly, the fox and bunny still felt a lingering sense of surprise that he'd kept himself from shouting his head off at them at all when he'd called them into his office.

Of course, after hearing the news, they'd come to realize that perhaps the positive endorsement from a potential future city senator was probably what had managed to quell their boss' hair-trigger temper as much as it did. Of course they'd still had to slog through respective mountains of paperwork to make up for it, but at the end of the day, they agreed that if the day ended with them both keeping their badges, it could still be considered a good day…more or less.

But tonight wasn't for worrying about the repercussions to take place in the office or the risking of their public image. Tonight was always THEIR time, where they could simply enjoy their personal time together and not have to dwell on their secrecy in the eyes of the public anymore.

"So, do you really think that's gonna be the last we see of our old friend Wesselton, dear fox?" Judy eventually asked once they'd already gotten a good ways into 'The Wolf of Wool Street'; enjoying the pleasant sensation of Nick's chest rising as he laughed while she rested on top of him.

"Wow, he was right; you really ARE getting it wrong on purpose, aren't you?" Nick said between his chuckles while Judy gave him a self-satisfied little grin before rolling onto her stomach with her paws resting under her chin.

"What can I say? I guess your talent for pushing people's buttons also rubbed off on me," she said teasingly before inching forward just a bit so their noses just barely rubbed before she rolled onto her back again.

"Seriously though, do you think we've really seen the last of him?" she asked once more once their mutual laughter had come to an end.

"Not a chance. If I know Duke Weaselton, he's pretty much lived his whole life butting heads with the ZPD. He'll be back on the street before we even realize it. Frankly, it'd just feel weird without having him out there for us to bust from time to time," Nick admitted while Judy couldn't help but nod in agreement. In a weird way, having certain folks out there to help give the ZPD a purpose gave her a sense of…normalcy.

"Of course, if we can avoid any more flying ATM's, you won't hear any complaints from me," the fox said jokingly; inspiring another round of laughter from both himself and his partner. Funny how hindsight could make even the scariest moments of their lives something they could now comfortably laugh at.

In fact, Nick was so caught up in the moment; he was once more caught off guard when Judy suddenly reached up to grab his face and pull him down as she gave him another surprise kiss that rendered him instantly silent.

"In case you're wondering, THAT was to make up for you beating me to it earlier. I don't like starting the day without getting a little taste of the WILDE side either," Judy said sweetly before that loving smile on her lips turned into another mischievous grin that left Nick groaning painfully.

"Ugh, I should've seen that one coming. Okay, I guess I deserved that," Nick relented while Judy just kept giggling to herself before cuddling up against her beloved fox a little more.

"Oh, don't be like that, Nick. You know you love my awful puns," she continued to tease him as she gently stroked the side of his face while Nick just rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Do I know that? Well…" Nick sarcastically asked; even deliberately hesitating, and thus prompting Judy to give him a playful shove against his chin as the two finally separated and now sat side-by-side while giggling in amusement with each other. Of course, it wasn't long until Judy started cuddling up against her beloved fox again as he brought a forepaw securely around her shoulders and holding her close.

"I love you so much, Nick. Today, I-I was so scared that I might—" Judy admitted softly before Nick silenced her by playfully rubbing the top of her head like he always did.

"I know, Carrots; I know. I'd be a terrible liar if I said I wasn't scared too. But I'm still here, and as long as I have you looking out for me, I don't think that's gonna change. You'll have to try a lot harder than that to get rid of someone like me," the fox reassured her while still managing to get a sarcastic little boast in there as well; earning a grateful smile from his girlfriend bunny before she climbed up into his lap and met him with yet another loving kiss he gladly returned.

At the end of the day, close calls aside, it was just another day in Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps' personal paradise, beginning, progressing and finally ending the way they both preferred it to. As long as they had each other, it didn't matter what the world would throw at them on or off the job. As long as these two kindred spirits had each other, everything could honestly be considered perfect.

 **The next morning at the ZPD…**

The bullpen was just the same as it was every morning. Some of the fellow officers had given Judy and Nick some personal congrats for their little stunt yesterday, but otherwise everyone was still keeping to themselves, and just as always, everything quieted down once Chief Bogo had made his entrance. However, today there was a certain edginess evident on his face that none of the officers had seen before.

"Alright, everyone, settle down. Now, I don't expect you all to have caught up with the news this morning, but I'm afraid something rather serious has come up that's going to require all ZPD officers' participation in some way shape or form. Now, I personally don't understand why this is, but city hall has made its feelings clear to me, so I'm afraid my hooves are tied on this one. You see, there was an arson case late last night down in the southeastern Sahara Square. We're not looking at anything catastrophic; it only encapsulated one apartment on the third floor, and there were no casualties or anyone injured in the process, but considering the aged state of the property alongside the fact that the fire was as powerful as it was and yet was so neatly confined suggests the work of a professional. That's why the ZFD is requesting our help in investigating in the hopes of tracking down the culprit. I will handpick a few of you to assist me in investigating while the rest of you keep to your regular assignments."

There were understandably a few concerned murmurs among the gathered officers, but Judy and Nick especially weren't going to let this unexpected tension get to them.

"Excuse me, Chief? I'm sorry to pry, but isn't there an arson-specific department in the ZPD to handle this? I don't necessarily understand why the regular officers are being drafted in," the bunny piped in with genuine curiosity while everyone else's eyes were on her; some even nodding in agreement at how this didn't seem to fully add up.

"Well, like I said, Hopps, I don't know much more about this case than you do. But maybe you and your partner might be able to figure it out sooner rather than later once we get there. Thank you for volunteering," the chief stated with no amusement as everyone else returned to their bothered murmuring while Judy and Nick exchanged shocked glances with each other at what had just happened. Clearly the news had already set Bogo's stresses high enough, so perhaps that was what had driven the ZPD chief to make such an impromptu decision for his two best officers.

But reflecting on it now wasn't going to change anything, as after having given everyone else their assignments, Chief Bogo motioned for Judy and Nick to follow him on their way to the morning's first crime scene.

 **And there you have it, everyone, the first chapter of my third installment to my Zootopia series. I'm sorry if the pacing here didn't feel right to some of you. Like I said before, this is a story I'm working really hard to piece together as I go along while still trying to make reasonable sense. I know how I want to end it, but it's getting there while remaining respectful to this source material that's going to prove to be the challenge. So I hope you'll all be able to bear with me in that I'll have to take considerably more time to make each chapter than I have been up to this point.**

 **Anyway, I hope you'll all be able to enjoy this story at least as much as the last two, and I hope you'll all continue to support me along the way. Thank you all so much.**


	2. Investigation

**Hello again, everyone. I'm glad to see that you all are so far enjoying my third installment. It really helps me with my confidence that I may be able to pull this story off. I'm going into a lot of new territory here, namely that this is my very first time attempting to write a genuine police investigation mystery story, and I know tying the details together and managing to make everything make sense by the end is the biggest challenge of that genre, so I'm taking a lot of first-timer risks here, but I hope it'll end up being good enough for you all to enjoy. So with that all being said, here's the second chapter, and I hope it keeps you all convinced to see it through to the end with me.**

 **Also, since this is my first attempt at a mystery story and don't want to risk getting too far ahead of myself, I hope you'll understand if the chapters end up being considerably shorter than you're used to. I need to plan this out as carefully as I can.**

 **Zootopia and its characters do not belong to me, they belong to Disney.**

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but neither of us have seen the chief that on edge before, right?" Nick asked while staring out at the passing cityscape of the southeastern quarter of Sahara Square. Unlike the rest of this section of Zootopia, this was easily the most low-income area, with a good number of the storefronts having long since been abandoned, and a good number of the apartment windows having been boarded shut. He and Judy had rarely EVER set foot into this area in their work, but at least on those few occasions it was during the daytime. This was definitely the kind of place normal folks wouldn't want to walk through alone at night.

Up ahead in the only other patrol car was Chief Bogo, obviously preferring to have driven alone so he could've gotten his stress and temper under control once they'd reach the scene. And of course the number of questions surrounding where they were headed were still all abuzz in all three of their heads.

"No, we haven't, but that's not really what's bothering me. I just can't stop thinking about this whole thing. We KNOW there's an entire arson department in the ZPD, and THIS is their area of expertise, not ours. The only reason I can think of that we'd be called into investigating this would be if another member of the ZPD was somehow involved in the fire, but I'd think Chief Bogo would've mentioned that first thing if that were the case," Judy explained; clearly still trying to make sense of it all to herself and her partner while they finally got off the freeway and followed the chief onto the series of narrow winding streets.

"True, even I don't think he's the type to keep secrets. If I had to stretch the imagination, I'd want to guess maybe he's doing this as a favor for someone specific," Nick said in an attempt to theorize some kind of idea.

"Well, we do know he answers directly to city hall, so it's not impossible he has friends in there that might have some connection to this fire in SOME way. Just in a place like this, I can't imagine how," Judy piped in while looking at the dilapidated state all around them as though it silently emphasized her point.

"No kidding. Places like these, you'd think 9 times out of 10, any kind of fire would result from the faulty wiring. If the chief is right and this is some kind of mammal-made fire, I can't imagine what they'd stand to gain from it," Nick agreed just as they rounded another corner to find a whole gathering of ZFD trucks surrounding one tenement-looking building that slightly towered over its neighbors; and almost instantly the two noticed how only one window had visible burn marks around it, just like the chief had said.

"Well, remember one of the first lessons in Criminology, Nick. When someone unexpectedly does something like this to lash out, most of the time it's in an attempt to gain attention or some temporary kind of celebrity status with the public. Like it's some kind of way to…leave their mark on the world," Judy suddenly remembered that powerful lesson from back in the academy as she and Nick quickly got out to follow Chief Bogo as he began to make his way onto the scene where some firefighters were gathered at the lobby entrance.

"But if that were the case, you'd think they would burn down the entire building so that more people would notice it," Nick countered before Chief Bogo silenced the two with his customary glare that all but said it was time to get to work.

"Chief Bogo, sir! W-what are the ZPD doing here so soon?" one of the firefighters outside the entrance suddenly called out the instant he spotted the hulking water buffalo; instantly calling his comrades t attention as they stood straight in the presence of the ZPD chief.

"I'm not at liberty to give details at this moment, but you can all settle down. We were simply asked to investigate what's going on here. So, what can you all give us?" the chief asked calmly and professionally as an alpaca firefighter nervously stepped forward before motioning towards the blown out window.

"Well, for all intents and purposes, from the outside it seems to be a pretty standard case, although from what we saw inside, it was anything but. Normal fire in a place this old and in this specific state of disrepair, an exposure in the wiring would've typically been the cause," the ZFD officer explained while Bogo, Judy and Nick were all paying rapt attention; Nick even instinctively nodding his head in agreement now that someone was bringing up his previous point.

"Since you said this really isn't standard, what exactly caused it?" Bogo asked rhetorically as the alpaca looked to his comrades who all gave him a barely noticeable nod before he started making his way for the door.

"It'd honestly be easier to explain if you all just saw the scene," he explained as the three ZPD officers immediately followed him inside. If the outside of the building had looked dilapidated and worn down, the inside was even worse. The fact the lobby even had any working lights looked to be a miracle. There were all kinds of unseemly stains on the floor and the walls, at least in the spots where the wallpaper was still hanging on; and the interior carried a very unpleasant mildew-like smell that immediately made Judy and Nick's fur stand on end as they made a point to breathe through their mouths from now on.

As they crossed the lobby, Judy noticed an old, out of shape oxen in moth-eaten looking clothes silently talking with another ZFD member in the corner; his clear civilian attire quickly getting her attention.

"Excuse me, but who is that? It doesn't seem right a civilian should be here," she pointed out; stopping their alpaca guide in his tracks as he too noticed the old ox.

"Oh, he's actually our prime witness at the scene. He's the landlord of this building," the firefighter explained as the ox already began to approach them without needing any kind of permission.

"Edgar Skot, at your service. And please, I'm nothing as fancy as a landlord…at least not anymore. I haven't had a tenant in this building for the last year. I was getting ready to finally sell this property before all THIS happened," the old ox introduced himself before immediately going on an angered ramble typical of one as old as he seemed to be.

"Funny enough, Mr. Skot here is the one who called in the fire to begin with," the alpaca pointed out; immediately catching Bogo, Judy and Nick's attention as the ox cleared his throat while situating a single manila folder under his arm.

"I pass by this old place every night on my way home from work, but last night I saw a strange glow coming from inside the fourth window from the left on the third floor. I thought it might've been some homeless vagrant holing up in the place. I've been having a hard enough time trying to sell this dump without some vagabond staking a claim. So I went inside to check it out and hopefully just scare them away. But by the time I got to the door, I started smelling smoke, and then I saw it was seeping out through the doorway. I didn't want to risk it spreading because of a backdraft, so I ran for the nearest payphone and called the ZFD right away."

Judy and Nick were already hard at work writing down everything the elderly landlord said while Chief Bogo looked to be processing it all in his head. All the while, his eyes never left the folder the ox was keeping under his arm.

"Mr. Skot, I apologize if it seems I'm prying, but what exactly is that folder?" the chief immediately asked as Edgar quickly pulled it out and handed it over.

"Like I said, I used to be the landlord here, and I always keep the records of my tenants on hand. Unusual, I know; but you never know when this kind of stuff might come in handy," he explained as Chief Bogo took the folder and already began to pull out one paper after another detailing what had to be the former residents.

"You suspect maybe one of your former tenants might've started the fire?" Judy asked as Edgar started to think hard to himself.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I never had any that were some kind of troublemaker, but I don't think any of them ever left on such a bad note they'd want to retaliate like this. Like I said, my last tenant left this place about a year ago. I'd think if one of them wanted to lash out at me, they would've done it a lot sooner," he explained with a shake of his head while Judy quickly took note. His reasoning certainly did make sense. For something as random as setting an apartment on fire, waiting an entire year to do so didn't make sense. Even Nick could only give her a confused shrug of the shoulders when she glanced to him, silently asking for any kind of suggestion.

"Uh, excuse me, officers Do you think we could perhaps continue on? We won't be able to get to work cordoning the building off and getting to work on repairs until your investigations through," the alpaca nervously suggested as Chief Bogo slipped the papers back inside and gave the folder back to Edgar before he and his officers continued their way up the stairs.

The entire way up, Judy noticed a particularly serious look in Nick's eyes. His focus was entirely on the path ahead of them, instead of shooting her some kind of reassuring smirk like he usually did. As difficult as it was to believe, Nick looked to be genuinely on edge, and it almost seemed as though he himself didn't understand why.

Once they'd reached the apartment door; once more marked by the black burn marks around the doorway, they could already hear the hustle and bustle of several other firefighters inside; no doubt conducting their own sweep of the area for any especially damaged parts, most likely in fear of collapse.

"Well, from here it's all in your paws, officers. Although, I won't lie, don't expect to really find a whole lot in there," the firefighter explained before opening the door to show them in.

Thankfully the blown out window had taken care of the smoke problem, but the three officers were still met with an exceptionally unpleasant smoldering cinders smell that permeated the room. The whole interior was charred black, if not downright burnt to a crisp, even down to the furniture. The few scattered firefighters around the room looked to be taking small samples of the burnt remains of the walls.

"You're gonna wanna put these on before anything else. You know how forensics can be," the alpaca suddenly instructed as he pulled out three pairs of thick rubber boots from a nearby bin set up by the door. The three all nodded in agreement before properly suiting up. Neither Nick nor Judy needed as many years on the field as the chief to know what sticklers for the minutest details the officers in the forensics department were, and the less they could rock the inter-departmental boat by avoiding leaving any paw prints or stray furs at the scene, the better.

"Wow, they certainly didn't risk leaving anything identifiable here, did they?" Nick asked rhetorically after letting out an impressed whistle at just how thoroughly burnt through the whole place was.

"Yeah, we've been combing the whole place over since we put it out, and the most we could make out besides the obvious furniture was the melted remains of what we assume was a candleholder on the desk by the window," one of the other firefighters mentioned through his oxygen mask before pointing out the miraculously still standing black cinder of a table resting just below the window; and sure enough there was a wad of what looked like both melted wax and soft metal at the top.

"For this place to get reduced to a cinder like this, the fire would've either had to have been burning for a while, or the culprit must've been using some kind of accelerant or incendiary agent to make it burn as hot as possible, if I'm using the right terminology of course. How long was it after the call was made that you lot got here?" Chief Bogo muttered to himself before directly questioning their ZFD counterparts.

"It was about eleven minutes, sir. But even in that amount of time, a regular fire couldn't have done this much damage that quickly, so your other guess isn't too far off," one of the older-sounding fire-mammals explained while Bogo once more looked to be deep in thought. It was clear to all present that he liked the details of this case less and less the more he heard; which only spurred Nick and Judy's curiosity more and more. So far they couldn't see the reason normal cops like them would've had to investigate instead of the arson department, and it looked like that missing detail was abuzz in their chief's head as well.

"Well, if that is indeed the case, then it looks like you got lucky it didn't spread to the neighboring rooms," Chief Bogo finally spoke up as the firefighters all looked to be in agreement.

"Yeah, say what you will about the ramshackle state, but the supports for the walls, and the heavy duty door definitely helped. If this place was anything like the apartments we usually get called to, this whole place could've gone up like a tinder box and maybe even spread to the neighboring buildings with the way this room was burning earlier," a younger fire-mammal spoke up before letting out a heavy sigh of relief.

"So you haven't been able to find any traceable clues the culprit might've left behind?" Judy asked; albeit rhetorically as they would've no doubt noticed paw prints the moment they got here, but the bunny was nothing if not professional and thorough.

"Not a thing. No prints, no strands of fur, a chipped claw, nothing. We suspect whoever it was must've been wearing some protective clothing, boots and gloves to make sure they didn't leave any traces you and us could follow," a third firefighter piped in as Judy and Chief Bogo let out a mutual sigh of aggravation. It was bad enough having to investigate crime scenes to begin with; but when the perps were actually smart enough to cover their tracks was even worse.

"So I'm guessing that's why you guessed this was done by a pro, huh, Chief?" Nick asked as Bogo shot him a glance that all but shouted 'brilliant deduction' as sarcastically as he could.

"Have any of you tried contacting the traffic station to see if any of the street cameras might've caught sight of anyone suspicious breaking in here last night?" Judy asked as she carefully peered into the half open closet, as though desperately trying to find ANYTHING that could pass off for a clue.

"Well, normally we would've. But a place as sparsely populated with as little traffic as this? City hall barely pays any attention to this neighborhood as is in terms of maintaining it. Believe me, this isn't our first time being called down here. Practically all the traffic cameras in this section have been dead for the last couple years," the older firefighter stated grumpily while Judy secretly crossed out that very same line of questioning from her notepad.

While still looking in every nook and cranny for anything out of the ordinary, Nick instinctively leaned toward the wall with a gloved paw outstretched to support his weight. It was right before he was about to make contact when one of the fire-mammals suddenly spotted the fox's instinctive act of laziness.

"WHOA, STOP," the firefighter shouted; nearly making everyone jump from the sudden break in silence as Nick's entire body nearly froze as the firefighter quickly rushed to his side.

"What did we JUST say about leaving marks on the scene, pal? Luckily it looks like I got ya just in time," he explained with a relieved sigh while Nick carefully stepped away while trying to ignore the piercing feeling of Chief Bogo's menacing glare. But before he could linger any further on the thought, Nick instinctively brought his hand up and noticed something off.

"Hey, Carrots, Chief, take a look at this," Nick announced; prompting his boss and partner to immediately come to his side as he held his paw out for them to see. From the slight contact he'd made with the wall, there was now an unmistakable glistening jelly-like substance mixed with the ashes and cinders on his glove; earning some very interested raised eyebrows from his ZPD comrades.

"What on Earth? How did we not notice this before?" Bogo asked mostly to himself, although his question had still caught the ZFD's attention.

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry about having missed it before. This stuff is practically made to mix with the cinders so the average observer wouldn't notice it unless you shone a light directly on it," the older firefighter piped in; causing Nick and Judy's ears to perk up. At long last, something resembling a lead or at least a clue.

"Are you saying you've come across this stuff before?" Judy asked while trying to contain her excitement and flipping to an empty page of her notepad.

"Oh, you bet I have, little miss. It's nothing specific or brand-named, but it's something we're taught about real early in the ZFD academy. It's a basic incendiary agent; used by amateur and professional arsonists alike. They LOVE this stuff because of how easy it is to make and how fast they can accumulate huge quantities of it," the fire-mammal explained in a tone that almost bordered on the casual, almost as though he were explaining the most mundane thing in existence while Judy, Nick and Bogo were all giving him their rapt attention.

"Do you think you could be able to elaborate further?" Judy asked; prompting the fire-mammal to motion for them to follow him out the door into the hallway to get out of his comrades' way. Once outside, he took off his protective helmet and oxygen mask to reveal a fairly aged and grizzled white wolf as he leaned back against the wall to think.

"Well, like I said, it's nothing really too fancy. It's really just a compound mixture of ground up soap mixed with a cocktail of various household cleaning chemicals with a bit of acetone or other paint thinner. The reason I say arsonists love this stuff is precisely because they can buy huge quantities of the materials necessary to make it without arousing any suspicion, hence why I also said they can amass huge quantities of it in nearly no time at all."

Judy, Nick and Bogo looked to already be having a field day with this info as they were already writing down everything with serious intent (yes, even the ZPD chief by this point was following suit).

"Would you mind explaining how it actually works?" Nick asked once he noticed the slightly amused grin on the old wolf's face to see the three acting so enthusiastically with what he was giving them.

"Well, it really varies on just how much of what ingredients the perp makes it with. If they wanted to make it happen quickly, like if they wanted even just the hot summertime heat to ignite it, they'd mix it up so the gel is a lot runnier. Heck, this time of year in Sahara Square with its burners running 24/7 already? They couldn't ask for a better way to do it. However, if they wanted a delayed reaction so that they could ignite it at a specific time, much like what we're looking at here since the fire was at night, they'd just have to mix it up so that the gel is a lot thicker as you saw. That way all the suspect has to do is smear the gel on whatever they wanna burn, and when they're ready, all they have to do is throw a flame onto it and the whole thing goes up like it was doused in gasoline. And just to make sure you got all the details you need, this stuff also works as an especially potent accelerant so that the fire burns as hot as it possibly can before the gel either dries out and the flames die with it or we come and put it out first.

"The fact that our arsonist smeared this stuff all over the furniture and the walls and was already long gone before we got the call is why we think a real pro is behind this. Most times we had an arson case where this stuff was used; it was with the intention of the fire operating as some kind of a warning or a message to someone or the entire city. Any joker seeking attention or pyromaniac with a can of gas and a lighter can start up an out of control inferno; but a real professional, a real threat is able to control how their fires burn and when and where they do. If you three are going to continue following this case, I strongly suggest you all keep that in mind."

"So maybe if we were to try calling any local hardware and department stores, we could be able to follow up on people who bought large amounts of soap bars, cleaning chemicals and paint thinner recently and see if that leads us to the culprit," Nick suggested as he, Judy and Bogo were all looking over each other's notes before the chief let out another irritated groan.

"No, it wouldn't be that easy. If the culprit was smart enough to take precautions to not leave any identifiable traces at the scene, they're no doubt smart enough to also make sure not to buy too much of what they need from one place. They'd spread it out so as not to arouse any suspicion," Bogo explained as if it'd just clicked in his head while Nick and Judy both gave a mutual look of yet another hopeful lead being shot down.

"Maybe it's possible they stole some of those materials, maybe in some kind of desperation. We could try following up on any recent thefts in the area," Judy then suggested, to which Nick and Bogo both gave nods of agreement. It was probably the best lead they'd have.

"Hey, Marshall, we got something here you might wanna see," one of the other firefighters in the apartment suddenly called out; spurring all four of them to come rushing back in. The others were all gathered at the mouth of the closet; parting ways for their superior and the ZPD officers to see. The firefighter that had called them in was holding a large neatly cut chunk of the wall in his gloved paws; revealing the slightly singed support boards. Adorning the center one was a single large black spot, but it wasn't any kind of fire damage. It was spray painted on.

"So what, it's just some sloppy-looking graffiti. You see that kind of thing all over neighborhoods like this," the old wolf reprimanded his younger comrade.

"Normally yes, sir, but I touched it just to be sure, and the paint is still at least a little wet. It's fresh, sir, probably from last night," he explained with some clear excitement at his unexpected find; which was met with equally surprised looks from the three ZPD officers.

Judy wasted no time snapping a photo on her phone before immediately sending it to Nick's and Bogo's as well. It wasn't much, but it had to be some kind of a clue.

"You think this might be some kind of message from our little firebug?" the old wolf asked once he could see the three of them making their way out into the hall.

"It's too early to say right now, but the way things are all looking here, it's the best lead we've got next to checking up on any local thefts. We'll leave you all to carry on with your business here. Sorry for the disturbance," Chief Bogo announced before sharing a firm paw-shake with their grizzled comrade before he, Nick and Judy began making their way down the stairwell for the lobby.

"How do you think we should divvy up the work from here, sir?" Judy asked as the ZPD chief was focusing on the photo of the black spot with peculiar intent.

"We've come this far, we stick together for the rest of the investigation today. I'm sending all the info we have to forensics so they can send a team over to investigate the scene as well. For now, the most we can do is to start checking hardware and department stores and any industrial warehouses to see if any of their supplies have been stolen recently."

The three began to pick up the pace once they reached the lobby, but it wasn't long before they were stopped by the sound of rushing feet behind them. They were soon greeted by an unusually energetic Edgar Skot.

"Sorry to hold you up, officers, but something just occurred to me while you were up there that hadn't last night in all my panic. The room that burned, you didn't happen to notice if it was room 316, did you?" the elderly ox asked; prompting the three to look at each other and realize they actually hadn't stopped to look.

"That's right, sir. The Marshall informed us earlier right after we'd put the fire out," a nearby firefighter piped in; and all at once it looked like Edgar's fur had been ruffled as he was now clutching his folder in his hooves even tighter than before.

"Oh, of all the rooms in this building to burn. That's some real irony if I ever saw it," Edgar was by now mumbling to himself; not even noticing the looks of piqued interest in the bunny, fox and water buffalo at his rambling.

"Excuse me, what exactly do you mean by that?" Nick asked; his eyes starting to drift towards the folder as well.

"Oh, that room had the one tenant I could never be able to forget. One of the only ones that wasn't getting himself into some kinda trouble, and the only one that had the decency to pay his rent on time. He was probably the last of the ones to leave this place last year. Here," Edgar stated as he quickly flipped through all his old papers and quickly pulled one out and handed it to Nick while Judy and Bogo looked on curiously as well. While Nick and Judy were perusing the details, they didn't notice their chief's eyes suddenly turn intense.

The photo was of a middle-aged rugged-looking mountain lion with piercing black eyes. His name read Reggie Aslani. For as old as he looked in this photo, just from the face he looked quite powerfully built. But unlike the photos of the other tenants they'd seen, there was a kind of…emptiness in this one, as if the mammal was there, but the general sense of awareness or consciousness wasn't.

Before Nick or Judy could think to ask Edgar anything else, Chief Bogo snatched the paper from Nick's paw and was clutching it to the point it almost seemed he'd tear it apart. And yet again, before either of his officers could ask, the look of sheer intensity on his already intimidating face had rendered them silent.

"It can't be…"

 **Later that night…**

"I can't possibly imagine how today could get any weirder. Never mind the fact we got roped into this case to begin with, but what about ol' Buffalo Butt? You can't seriously tell me you've ever seen him look or act like that before," Nick stated as he collapsed onto the living room sofa in exhaustion after yet another pleasant dinner with just his Judy to keep him company.

"Not even close. And what about the fact he was so quiet after we got that paper? I mean, he's not the chatty type by a long shot, but that…that was just eerie how quiet he was after that," Judy said in ready agreement as she naturally jumped up and cuddled against her fox like always as the two settled comfortably against each other.

"Yeah, I don't know about you, Carrots, but everything about work today just isn't sitting right with me still. Nothing about any of this adds up. I know I'm the one who suggested we don't talk about work once we're home, but I just can't stop thinking about it: barely any clues to speak of, no leads after that recent local theft follow-up waste of time, and then the chief getting all hush-hush with us. I'd wanna suggest he's hiding something, but before that he legitimately looked like he didn't know any more than we did. At least tell me this is bugging you at least a little so I don't feel so alone here."

"No, you're not alone there, Nick. This isn't sitting right with me either, but other than that black graffiti spot; there aren't any other leads for us to follow up on, especially since Chief Bogo held onto that file. Right now, as much as I hate to say it, it looks like all we can do is either wait for forensics and see if they can come up with anything else, or god forbid, wait and see if our culprit makes any more noticeable moves," Judy explained regretfully while Nick just let out a tired sigh of defeat.

"Hey, Nick, can I ask you something?" she asked after a few minutes of blissful silence and listening to the fox's heartbeat.

"I'd ask you if you even needed to ask, but I think you already know the answer," he answered sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny. But seriously for a second. Maybe I'm just worrying for nothing, but even before we started checking out the crime scene, I couldn't help but notice how…well, how on edge you looked," she finally managed to say, and she could see Nick's ears fold down the instant the words left her mouth.

"Ugh, you noticed that, huh?" he mumbled in embarrassment.

"Yeah; paying attention to how the fox I love feels is kinda part of the girlfriend job description. So…do you think you'd be okay talking about it?" she asked invitingly as she and Nick moved so they could at least sit facing each other.

"I would if I even knew what to talk about. See, that's the thing. It's not like I was actively choosing to feel like that in there. I don't know what it was; just that after the chief called us in to go join him, ever since we got in the car, I just started feeling all this…I dunno, tension or anxiety. I wouldn't really know how better to describe it. It's just this really unpleasant feeling deep in my gut," he proceeded to explain; not too long before he started struggling for the right words to try and help her understand.

"You think this case in general is making you nervous?" Judy guessed while Nick seemed to be considering it before sullenly shaking his head.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just so used to our job generally being patrols with…well, ALMOST nothing extraordinary happening, that suddenly having a case like this thrown at me just caught me off guard," Nick attempted to theorize; although Judy's look of concern unexpectedly gave in to a surprisingly confident smile that usually tended to brighten his spirits.

"I can understand that, Nick; but I don't think we need to worry. Don't forget, the whole reason we got where we are now was through a case a whole lot more complicated than this one. If we were able to handle that as…well, MOSTLY as well as we did, I can't imagine we couldn't handle this one," Judy said with that infectious enthusiasm Nick had so come to love her for while he just let out a pleasingly relieved-sounding sigh.

"Ah, don't oversell it so much, Carrots. You were the real investigator there. I was just the plucky sidekick, remember?" the fox said while making a brushing-off motion with his paw that made Judy form a childish frown as her ears fell.

"Ugh, stop selling yourself so short, dumb fox. How many times do I have to tell you I couldn't have solved that case without you before you finally believe it?" she asked in mock frustration before Nick shot her that trademark sarcastic grin.

"I don't know. Maybe I just like hearing you admit it more every time you say it," he said with a snicker; once more causing his beloved bunny's ears to perk right back up before shooting him a mischievous grin.

"Ah, there he is! There's that cheeky fox I love so much," she announced before playfully tackling him into the sofa.

 **The next morning…**

The usual ambient noise of downtown Zootopia that typically woke Judy and Nick up in the mornings was this time replaced by the surprising buzzing of the bunny's cellphone on the nightstand nearest her. She let out an involuntary groan of exhaustion as she struggled to find her phone while still keeping her face planted in the pillow while Nick still had his forepaws wrapped around her tiny midsection. But thankfully she soon felt it in her paw and pulled it over; nearly having to shield her violet eyes from the blinding light of the screen once she unlocked it. She tried to rub the sleep from her eyes while trying to find the section where her text messages were, and once her eyes landed on the name 'CHIEF BOGO' being on the one she'd just received; it was like an instant adrenaline shot to her system.

"Nick. Nick, you gotta wake up, c'mon," she urged her sleeping partner with a forced whisper as she tried to gently nudge him awake before he too let out an automatic groan and rolled onto his back; his face showing obvious distaste for having been woken up even earlier than normal.

"Ugh…what is it, Carrots?" he asked mid-yawn; not even trying to pretend to sound enthusiastic about what had to be even earlier work.

"Heads up, Nick. Sounds like we won't have to wait as long for our culprit's next move as we thought."

 **And there we have the second chapter. I'm sorry this chapter wasn't even remotely as action-packed as the last one. But I felt this really would help set the mood for what we're in for. I'm not a forensics or investigations or even mystery expert by any stretch of the imagination, so if any of the investigation-like details I gave here sound like they require a certain suspension of disbelief, then I'm afraid I don't know what to tell you. It was pretty dang hard and time-consuming to really put all these details together in my head in a way I felt would make sense not only to the rest of the story but to all of you as well. But hopefully what little I've managed to provide here will at least intrigue some of you enough to wanna stick around to the end while I try to formulate Chapter 3 as best I can. I hope you all enjoy.**


	3. Faces From the Past

**Hello again, everyone, and welcome to Chapter 3. It does my heart good to hear that even despite my lack of confidence in the last chapter, you all still seemed to enjoy it and were roped in by the mystery I've been trying to put together. I can only hope this chapter can manage to do that again for you all. So without further ado, here it is and I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Zootopia and its characters ae property of Disney, not me.**

"So, remind me, WHY is it exactly the chief ISN'T coming with us this time?" Nick asked in a semi-skeptical tone while Judy continued to drive their cruiser through the bustling streets of the Rainforest District.

"He said he needed to go over the evidence we found yesterday with someone important, so that's why we need to check out this next crime scene on our own," Judy explained bluntly; clearly just as disappointed that Chief Bogo was essentially dropping the two of them into what could've been a right mess without any other kind of support.

"I'll bet you five bucks it's whatever city hall bigwig that roped him into taking this case to begin with," Nick piped in with a barely visible smirk while their cruiser slowly drifted off the freeway.

"Well, no matter who it is, we have our job for the day; so let's at least try to go into it with SOME optimism this time," Judy asked as Nick just looked at the somewhat pleading look on her face. Just knowing they were already having a no-doubt difficult investigation to start off their day was leaving his partner in not the best of moods he'd seen her in, so this was clearly her asking him to try and at least help her out on an emotional level. Knowing he couldn't rightly say no, he let out a defeated-sounding sigh before leaning back into his chair.

"Okay, Carrots. If it'll help, I'll scour the place for clues even if I have to make some up, just so we don't end up going back empty-pawed," he assured her as she gave him a faint yet grateful smile in return.

"Thank you, Nick. I mean, don't actually do that, but the sentiment's appreciated regardless," she thanked him as their urban surroundings soon gave way to a largely spread out industrial setting.

It wasn't long after till they found themselves outside the gates of the largest cargo port along the river that ran through the Rainforest District. Aside from the couple massive freight ships docked on opposite sides and the handful of cargo crates dotted around, the port was almost eerily empty; save for a few massive storage warehouses, the towering cranes, the security office, and the huge column of white smoke billowing from a distant corner that could be seen even from outside the fences.

"Well, looks like I can cross out the possibility of our culprit not being the attention-seeking type," Nick said with an impressed whistle before his and Judy's attention was caught by a knocking at their cruiser window; where they were met by a dirtied boar in a ZFD uniform.

"Excuse me, officers, but unless you've got some kind of clearance, you can't be here. We're still in the middle of sealing off the area from the public, so—" "Let them through, Boarkowski. I got the call from HQ a few minutes ago. They're here for the investigation," the boar began to wave them off before he was suddenly interrupted by a fellow llama firefighter who began to wave their cruiser forward through the gate.

"Thank you, sir. Any idea what we're looking at here?" Judy asked as she pulled the cruiser over while the llama began making his way toward the distant plume of smoke.

"Well, I'm mainly here to keep the perimeter secure and keep the press and the public out, Officer Hopps. It hasn't been easy, and I gotta get back to the gate before they try to get in again. Our sergeant's further up ahead. He can give you all the details," the llama said apologetically before he began backtracking while Judy and Nick decided to keep going towards the smoke. With every step, they could feel a steadily building sweltering heat. It gave them both a very foreboding feeling, as if they were about to step into the remnants of a real war zone that would once more give them nothing to work off of.

As they rounded a corner of the nearest warehouse, they were immediately assaulted by a nearly suffocating stench of melted rubber, smoke, ashes and what had to be burnt gasoline. Once they'd finally managed to get at least semi-used to the smell, they were met with what looked like the site of a major bomb explosion.

Having consumed what had to be a quarter of the warehouse and the parking lot for it as well was a colossal blast site; peppered with the remains of what looked like half a dozen of the fuel trucks that were used to refuel the ships that docked here. ZPD and ZFD officers alike were scouring the scene and taping it off while giving instructions to each other to search different parts of the port or to report to their respective HQ's or at least to head to different entrances to the ports to keep up the cordon to keep the press at bay. Honestly, if the explosion had been as huge as this destruction indicated, Nick and Judy couldn't help but be amazed that the press hadn't gotten all over this much sooner.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I would love to see how the chief's gonna calm the press after THIS," was all Nick could think to say as Judy already began making a beeline for the scene; prompting him to quickly follow after her, only faltering when he noticed shards of what had to be the truck's fuel tanks embedded into the side of the warehouse. It definitely made him grateful they'd actually missed the action again this time.

"I assume you're the two officers Chief Bogo told me to expect?" they were suddenly greeted by a grizzled-looking black bear that seemed to come out of nowhere from the smoky haze. Even from a glance, they could tell this firefighter not only had some serious experience behind him, but that he looked utterly exhausted, and didn't even need to guess why.

"That's right, sir. What all can you tell us about what happened here?" Judy uniformly asked as though she were on autopilot as she already had notepad and pen out on sheer reflex; not even noticing the momentary look in the bear's eyes that looked as though he were silently asking 'could you be more specific' sarcastically.

"*sigh* A right ol' mess; that's what happened. We got the call a little after midnight last night, and we only managed to get the fire put out barely an hour ago. All the fuel trucks suddenly go up after they're brought in for the night; nearly wake up every citizen in a five mile radius, and we're brought here to put out the biggest oil fire I've seen in years. If you're gonna be looking for some kind of evidence, good luck. It'd be a miracle if anything in that warehouse that got caught in the blast hasn't been reduced to cinders by now."

"So you weren't able to uncover anything that might've started the fire?" Judy asked as the bear just let out another exhausted sigh before looking back at all the smoldering wreckage.

"Not a thing. Those flames were going so hot, it could've turned the sand at Sahara Square into glass. If there was anything like a gas leak that could've started it, we're not gonna find any trace of it on the ground or the wreckage. Like I said, it's a miracle we were able to put this thing out as fast as we were, and thank goodness this happened as late as it did. If this had happened when this place is usually bustling, we'd have been looking at who-knows how many injured, or even worse," the firefighter reiterated, all while Nick was still observing the sheer scope of all the damage to the warehouse in astonishment.

"Did anyone check to see if maybe the security cameras caught anything suspicious?" she asked upon looking up to see the cameras mounted on the legs of the cranes were at least high up enough not to get destroyed by the explosion.

"We've been spending the last few hours getting the fire put out and securing the area. But one of your buddies did radio in finding a security guard stuffed into a locker in their office. They haven't taken him away for a medical check-up yet, so I'd say that's your best bet," the bear explained while a spark of inspiration shimmered in Judy's eyes at this thankful new lead. For once, an actual witness!

"C'mon, Nick, maybe they can tell us something," Judy instructed with barely restrained excitement while she began to dash for the security office; only stopping once she noticed Nick wasn't at her side as he usually was.

"Find anything unusual, partner?" she asked the fox curiously once she noticed he was still looking over the massive hole in the side of the warehouse and the extent of the interior damage.

"Not yet, but I've barely even gotten started looking. I just couldn't help but take in the scope of the damage is all. Hey, why don't you go follow up on that security guard lead while I keep on searching out here and see if I can find anything?" Nick suggested, momentarily catching Judy completely off guard.

"A-are you sure, Nick? I mean, no offense, but you've never conducted an investigation by yourself before," she asked hesitantly while Nick gave her a good-humored shrug of his shoulders.

"True, but ultimately neither have you, Carrots. Besides, the rookie fox has gotta take the proverbial training wheels off some day," he explained; to which Judy couldn't help but sigh before giving a single nod of agreement and a warm smile of understanding.

"Okay, Nick. Just…please, be careful. If you find anything of note, I'll keep my radio on so you can reach me," she explained before flipping on the power to the radio holstered at her hip for emphasis; prompting Nick to do the same while smiling with gratitude. With nothing more to be said, the otherwise inseparable partners went their separate ways for their respective investigations.

It wasn't long before Judy reached the solitary security office nuzzled up against one of the larger warehouses in the center of the port; complete with a couple fellow ZPD officers standing guard outside the door who immediately stood at attention upon noticing her.

"One of the ZFD officers told me you found a security guard in one of the lockers. Is he still in there?" she asked the rhino officer she recognized as McHorn from the bullpen every morning.

"That's right, Hopps. His name's Leonard Durdan. He looked like he took a nasty blow to the back of the head when we found him, so we already got him taken care of, but Delgado called in an ambulance to come pick him up for a full look over anyway. Considering everything we've got here, it looks like he's our only witness, so if you wanna ask him anything, now's your chance," McHorn explained before stepping aside to let her through. With a deep breath, Judy was already making her way inside with an invigorated spring in her step.

"Hey, Hopps, where's Wilde at? I didn't think you two were even separable," the tiger officer named Delgado suddenly called after her once it had clicked in his and McHorn's heads what had been wrong with this picture.

"He volunteered to keep investigating the fire site to see if he could find anything. I'd say you could help him out, but I think he really wants to try his paw at it alone this time," she explained before she was already around the corner and out of sight; soon stepping into a cramped little security office adorned with a wall of monitors numbering enough to possibly cover the entire port, occupied only by a lion resting in his chair with some bandages wrapped around the top of his head.

"Hello, officer. Is the ambulance here already?" the lion security guard asked as he rubbed the back of his head in pain.

"I'm afraid not yet, Mr. Durdan. I'm Officer Judy Hopps, and I just have some questions I'd like to ask you regarding this case," she stated apologetically before Durdan motioned for her to take the one empty chair opposite him before leaning back with another pained groan.

"That sounds pretty bad, if you don't mind me saying so. If this is too much trouble, we can see about maybe asking you at a later time," she offered before he just waved her concerns off with a wave of his paw.

"Nah, don't worry about it, Officer Hopps. Yeah, it's a bit painful, but this isn't the first blow to my noggin I've taken, and I doubt it'll be the last. I don't know if there's much I can tell you, but I'd be happy to help however I can," he reassured her; earning an understanding nod before she pulled out her trusty notepad once again.

"Alright, why don't we start at the beginning? Can you tell me the last thing you remember before you woke up in the locker?" she asked while Durdan looked to be deep in reminiscent thought.

"Well, after the last ships pull into the port at night, that's around the time the fuel trucks finally start to return from their refueling so we can refill the ships and they can set off come morning. I'm typically the night guard, so my rounds don't typically start until the last truck pulls in so that way I know not to expect anyone else to come in through the gate. I was mainly hanging around here, watching the monitors every now and again just waiting for all ten of the trucks to have pulled in. I remember it was just a little past 11:30 when the last truck pulled in, so that's when I started my patrol rounds.

"Hardly anything ever happens around here that's out of the ordinary, so I was just going through the motions while I was out there. The whole place was as quiet as it usually was, and I pride myself on having exceptional hearing, so that should tell you something about whoever did all…well, THAT out there, because I didn't even hear them come up behind me before they knocked me out. Not to state the obvious, but you can clearly see how big I am; whoever it was would've had to be just about the same size, and yet they were able to get the drop on me just like that. Just, the next thing I know, and I take this huge blow to the back of my head and I'm out right then.

"I don't even know how long it was before I woke up, but I just remember waking up to find myself stuffed into my locker with my paws cuffed behind my back. Wasn't even two hours ago your friends out there heard me calling for help and finally got me out and helped stitch me up."

This was a lot for Judy to have to take into consideration. Yes, Durdan here was as big as lions could be expected to be, and the thing about larger mammals was they moved around loudly whether they intended to or not; so for someone about the same size to have managed to sneak up on him without a sound was nothing short of surprising and more than a little worrying. More and more she liked the idea of this mystery arsonist running loose less and less.

"I realize how unlikely this is, but I just need to make sure we go over every possibility. Do you think it's possible this fire might've been started by a group of any kind? Is there any chance anything illegal might've been happening here without your knowledge, and it might've attracted some unwanted attention?" she asked; silently chastising herself all the while for asking something so pointless. Every natural instinct in her gut was telling her this had to be the same individual that did the apartment fire yesterday, but her cop instincts kept telling her to follow every possibility. For how little she really knew about the organized crime element in Zootopia, namely one Mr. Big, the idea of maybe his own organization pulling something like this against some kind of competition trying to make their way in through the port didn't seem unlikely by any stretch of the imagination.

"That's not possible, Officer Hopps. I've been working here for nearly nine years now, and I've never seen anything even remotely sketchy come through here. We're the biggest port in Zootopia; we're where all the imported foods, goods and pretty much everything else you buy in every store and restaurant come in through. If some kind of illegal smuggling was going on here, not only would I have found out about it, but you would've too, believe me. I don't know WHO went and did this, but I can nearly guarantee some kind of mob action isn't possible," Durdan explained with a surprising amount of conviction, as though he truly believed and stood by every word. Part of her almost wanted to call him out on it and see if he was trying to hide anything, but that nagging little voice in her head convinced her he had to be telling the truth.

"Alright; well how about the security cameras? They have to record everything, maybe they got a look at the culprit in the act," she suggested. With a reluctant sigh, Durdan flipped on the monitors to reveal nothing but static.

"That was my first idea too once I came back to my senses. Whoever we're dealing with here really knows how to cover their tracks, because all the security tapes were stolen," he explained regretfully when seeing Judy's optimism quickly fade.

"I see. Well, I wish there was more I could ask you to tell me, Mr. Durdan, but if the tapes are missing and you never got a look at the culprit, that doesn't really leave me with much to go on," she said in defeat; slipping her notepad back into her pocket.

"I should apologize, Officer Hopps. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help to you," the lion apologized in return as she gave him a slight appreciative smile on her way out the door.

"No, no, what you were able to provide is appreciated as it is, sir. I'm sure my partner may be able to come up with something too. I trust the medics will take good care of you, Mr. Durdan," she reassured him in her farewell just as the ambulance finally began to pull in through the gate.

"Wait! I just remembered something," Durdan suddenly called after her; causing her to almost literally spin on her heels while trying not to look overly eager.

"I'm not sure what you can do with this, but I just remembered there was something strange I'd noticed right before I got knocked out. I don't know why, but I suddenly caught wind of this strange…I guess I'd call it lavender-esque scent. I'm sorry again, but that's all I remember that really stands out," the lion explained, and while it was certainly a nice little detail for her to know, it sadly still didn't give her anything to go on.

With a heavy and frustrated sigh, Judy pulled out her radio as the paramedics made their way past her to tend to the security guard. She knew she had to keep a straight head on her shoulders here, but this serious lack of any real leads was really starting to wear on her nerves.

"Hey, Nick, it's me. The security guard lead wasn't able to really give me anything useful. How are things looking on your end?" she asked while silently hoping for some kind of breakthrough, or at the very least a clue.

"Well, you don't need to worry anymore, Carrots. I was just about to call you. Meet me back at the fire site. I think I've got something," her partner's voice rang out, and all at once her ears perked right back up and she nearly took off sprinting in eagerness to see what Nick had found.

She was back at the site of the truck fire in nearly a minute flat; instantly greeted by her partner standing tall with a greatly satisfied, even proud grin on his face.

"Alright, lay it on me, partner. What've you got?" she asked as Nick motioned her to follow him further into the smoldering wreckage.

"Alright. First off, there wasn't any sign of anything shady going on inside the warehouse, so some kind of inter-organization conflict's out of the question. Half the cargo that got destroyed in the blast was common produce. But anyway, I wasn't able to find any paw prints or strands of fur left behind here just like last time, unless forensics comes up with something once they get here. BUT, take a look at what I found near one of the wheel wells," Nick explained just as he reached one of the half-melted wheel wells the furthest from the fire epicenter.

At first, Judy was having trouble finding anything peculiar about it before Nick suddenly took a pen from his pocket and quickly ran the end of it across the melted steel; revealing a very familiar ash-laden jelly hanging from it. All at once, Judy's optimism flared right back up. Finally, a connecting lead; investigative paydirt.

"Any idea where this might've come from within the site?" she asked as Nick pointed closer to the center of the wreckage.

"If we assume the explosion happened with the center truck, I'd say it came from somewhere in there. But I don't need to assume, because check this out," he explained further while trying to keep his own excitement in check as he and Judy went further in, and upon reaching the piled up wreckage, Judy instantly noticed the same glistening jelly substance just barely visible among all the ash and incinerated stone forming a thin line from the epicenter.

"You think our culprit actually set it up so that the fire would burn a trail here and cause the explosion long after he'd left the scene?" she asked in the hopes they were once more on the same wavelength as Nick pointed towards a further corner of the port a good ways away.

"That'd be the only answer that makes sense to me. But get a load of this," he answered as he then guided her to just a few feet outside the furthest edge of the blast area; pointing out another thin trail of what actually looked like unignited jelly heading further and further away towards the distant warehouse tucked into the corner.

"At first I thought this might mean the arsonist actually messed up and missed some of their own fuel when finally starting the fire. But the further I looked, the more I realized he did all this on purpose," Nick elaborated while Judy nearly looked like she was ready to tackle the fox with joy that he'd finally found something that could legitimately help them.

"Please, stop leaving me in suspense here, Nick. What else did you find?" she asked excitedly as they finally followed the trail all the way to the warehouse entrance. Inside was nothing but a few scattered piles of crates and a few beams of sunlight filtering in through a series of holes in the roof. Without wasting any more time, Nick motioned for Judy to follow him further.

The sounds of their steps echoing against the rusted walls almost gave the warehouse an eerie feel to it, but the two partners' mutual excitement at their mysterious new find blocked out anything else. Once they'd reached the opposite end of the warehouse, they were met with what looked like the jelly trail ending in a deliberately painted arrow pointing toward a single smoldering steel drum standing in front of them with faint wisps of smoke curling out from inside.

Wasting no time, Judy peered over the edge of the barrel; only for her ears to drop in record time. Smoldering in their own ashes, only able to be identified by the half-melted plastic wheels that would help play the film, were what had to be all the stolen security tapes. And with it, any chance of catching a glimpse of their mystery arsonist.

"He's taunting us. He has to be. He knows we're following him, and he's laughing at us now that he's covered his tracks again," she muttered in frustration to herself before Nick tilted her head up by her chin to look at him as he surprisingly wasn't the least bit deterred.

"As much as I'm sure you'd like to keep brooding, Carrots, that's not what I brought you here to see. Get a look at THAT," Nick reassured her before he turned her little body to behold two large black spots that looked to be spray-painted on the opposite wall, illuminated by the beams of light coming from the two largest holes in the ceiling.

"Our little firebug had this whole location planned out. As for what these spots mean, your guess is as good as mine, but it's something, right?" he asked as Judy quickly made note of it. Unfortunately, she couldn't even hazard a guess what it was.

"I'd almost want to guess it's his way of making some kind of tally, but it's as solid a lead as anything else we've got so far," she admitted before the two made their way back outside.

"You did great finding all this, Nick. I'm really proud of you. But I'm curious, how were you able to find this trail among all that burn damage in the first place?" she finally asked her partner after complimenting him; which of course caused her partner to rub the back of his head with a slightly-shy grin before he quickly slipped back into professional-mode.

"Wasn't easy, I'll tell you that much. All that smoke and that stench of burnt gas and melted rubber, it was like I couldn't breathe OR see in the middle of all that. But once I got far away enough to at least breathe, I caught this strange…lavender-like scent. The more the smell got stronger, that's when I found the trail, and that's when I found out that jelly was where the smell was coming from."

All at once, Judy nearly sprung up into the air at this miraculous little tidbit. After what felt like spending all morning having every possible clue or lead get shot down, at long last, SOMETHING they could latch onto.

"Oh, YES! Way to go, Nick! You just got our first real lead! C'mon, we gotta head back to the ZPD and tell Chief Bogo now!"

 **Later at the ZPD…**

It was nearly a miracle Judy DIDN'T kick the revolving doors down to get into the ZPD if the excitement on her face was any indication. Sure, the lead of the culprit and their tools sharing the same scent wasn't the strongest clue in the world, but after how the rest of the morning had gone, she wasn't going to just brush it off. All the while, Nick was still following his partner at his own pace; simply grinning in amusement at her never-faltering enthusiasm even after two whole years.

Not that he could really blame her. He wanted this lead to be as useful for them just as much as she did. At least that could give him the hope they could bring the culprit to justice and maybe this nagging sense of worry that had silently been weighing down on him could fade away.

"Oh hey, talk about perfect timing; I was just about to call you two. Chief Bogo wants to see you in his office right now," Benjamin Clawhauser called out to them from his typical spot behind the lobby desk. The two partners stopped in their tracks in surprise before quickly picking the pace back up again.

"Try not to get your hopes up too high there, Carrots. I seriously doubt the chief's got anything to give us, he probably just wants an update and we just have timing on our side," Nick tried reasoning with his partner right before they rounded the corner lead to Bogo's office.

"Well, being pessimistic about it isn't going to help, either. Please at least TRY to believe we might work this case out, Nick," Judy mildly scolded the fox just as they reached the door; the rabbit nearly forgetting to knock at the last fraction of a second.

"Come in," the chief's authoritative voice beckoned from inside just before her paw met the door, and with no further ado, the two partners made their way inside.

They were instantly greeted by Chief Bogo's familiar hulking mass seated behind his desk, but he wasn't alone. He was actually accompanied by an equally massive and even more imposing bull in a very fine-looking pinstriped suit standing, or rather towering, over their two new arrivals. He looked like he could easily have bench-pressed the chief and his desk all together, and yet despite his overwhelming stature, he had a look on his face that seemed naturally disarming to the two otherwise surprised and even wary ZPD officers.

"Hopps, Wilde, go ahead and take a seat. I suppose I should introduce you. This is—" "Oh please, Bogo, you don't have to go so far out of your way, I can handle the formalities too. I'm Viktor Bullba, at your service. I've heard so much about you two; it really is an honor to finally meet you in person, Officers Hopps and Wilde," the chief began before being interrupted by the almost jovial sounding bull; not even noticing the shocked looks on Judy and Nick's faces once he'd introduced himself.

Of all the individuals in Zootopia they'd meet on this job, probably the frontrunner for city senator had to be one of the last they'd expected.

"Oh, s-sir! The honor's all ours! I-I really appreciate and support everything you're trying to do for the city and the people," Judy exclaimed while hopping to her feet before offering a respectful salute to the large bull. All the while, despite looking slightly surprised at his presence, Nick looked far less star struck; which unfortunately Bogo seemed to notice as quickly as Bullba did.

"Wilde, get on your feet and show some respect! Don't you know who—?" "Ah, don't worry about it, Bogo. It takes a heck of a lot more than the silent treatment to even TRY and get under my hide. Officer Wilde here's just sticking to his guns. Bet there's not a whole lot of confidence around here in politicians, huh? Don't worry; I can appreciate making your opinions clear. But I can assure you I'm aiming to make a REAL difference for the people," Bullba reassured the chief with a casual wave of his hoof before placing a firm yet respectful hold on Nick's shoulder; that inviting all-too camera-friendly grin never leaving his face.

"Well, who could ever doubt someone with a smile THAT bright, sir? Am I right? So, what brings you all the way down here from on high?" Nick asked with such a casual tone, it almost looked like Chief Bogo was going to have an aneurism from the barely restrained lack of professionalism. But just like before, Bullba seemed to diffuse any kind of tension with a hearty laugh of amusement.

"Ha, I like your wit, Mr. Wilde. If only my campaign runners had a sense of humor like yours. But to answer your question, Chief Bogo actually invited me here. Said he had some evidence he'd found yesterday that he thought I should look at. I only just managed to get here after all those boring meetings earlier as it were," Bullba explained; not even noticing the mutual looks of surprise on Judy and Nick's faces. Or rather, the surprise was entirely on Judy, and Nick only had a self-satisfied grin that practically screamed 'called it.'

"You mean you're the one that directed the chief to this arson case, Mr. Bullba? Forgive me for prying, but I don't really see why a little apartment fire would concern you," Judy pointed out while Bullba sat himself comfortably on Bogo's desk, deep in thought.

"Well, you've no doubt heard over the news how I was a veteran of the ZFD, right? Well, I guess you could say old habits die hard. Sometimes in my down time, I like to listen in on the old ZFD frequencies to hear if any fires have broken out. Say what you will, but it can't help but make me remember the good old days. But when I heard about THIS particular fire in Sahara Square with no sign of intrusion, a gas leak or even faulty electric wiring, needless to say my interest was piqued. So I figured it wouldn't hurt to follow up on it, so I asked ol' Bogo here to check it out and tell me what he found."

"Yes, and speaking of which, I think it's about high time I told you. The landlord for those apartments was at the scene, and he let us hang onto the profile he had for the last tenant who lived at the very same one that burned. Take a look at this," Chief Bogo quickly piped in, far from in the mood for any more idle chit chat as he pulled out the document on the mountain lion Reggie Aslani and quickly handed it over to Bullba.

"Is…I-is this right? Was he absolutely sure HE was the one that lived there?" Bullba asked in mild disbelief the instant he saw the rugged mountain lions face and name. However, Bogo just let out a heavy sigh and put his hooves together; his normally intimidating gaze now showing nothing but psychological exhaustion.

"He gave me his word it was correct. I'm afraid it's just as you feared, Viktor," Bogo confirmed; prompting the powerful bull to collapse into a chair of his own; looking at the photo with almost a hint of reminiscence.

"Excuse me, Mr. Bullba? You don't have to answer if you don't want to right now, but…do you KNOW that mountain lion?" Judy asked carefully as Viktor looked to be mentally psyching himself back into a more talkative mood as he quickly sat himself upright again.

"All too well, Ms. Hopps. Me and Reggie…we go back a very long time," Viktor stated with that same glimmer of nostalgia in his eyes.

"You don't suppose…HE could possibly be the culprit, do you?" she pressed further; the very notion prompting Bogo to practically shoot up from his desk with half a mind to reprimand her on the spot before Viktor gave him another glance that seemed to instantly turn down his hair trigger temper.

"I can appreciate that ZPD officers' instinct to cover every possibility, Ms. Hopps. It's the sign of a true professional, a true prodigy. But I can assure you, that's a true impossibility. You see, Reggie and I served in the ZFD together. He was in the service for about as long as I was, but he retired six years ago, and he ended up moving out of his old home about two years ago. The last I'd heard about him was that he'd moved into this neighborhood in Sahara Square, so when I heard about this fire happening, I got really worried about him. That's why I wanted Bogo to check in on it for me, just so I could at least know for a fact whether or not Reggie was okay."

"The landlord said he'd moved out of there about a year ago. But I wouldn't know where he could be otherwise," Bogo piped in as Bullba let out a slight sigh of relief.

"I'm just glad he wasn't there. We may not have spoken for a while, but Reggie's still a comrade, so I just hope he's okay wherever he is now," Bullba admitted while Nick and Judy shared curious glances before giving each other a mutual nod of decision.

"I'm sorry, I have to stop you there, sir. It's just that Carrots and I have been wondering who directed the chief to this case from the start, and now that we know, I just gotta ask. WHY exactly did you ask the ZPD to investigate this specific case in the first place?" Nick finally asked with none of his overhanging typical sarcasm while Bullba simply looked at him for a few tense seconds before giving an understanding nod and sitting himself up straight again.

"Of course. After coming this far already, it's only right you deserve to know the truth as protectors of this city. Would you rather I tell them, or do you wanna take over?" Bullba stated before turning his attention to the momentarily surprised ZPD chief.

"I'm the one that assigned them to work with me here, so it's only fair that I tell them. You see, I worked together with Viktor around the beginning of my working for the ZPD, on my very first big case thirteen years ago. It was a serial arson case. Someone had been setting off major fires all across the city, and Viktor and I worked together every step of the way, from the crime scenes, to even the messages the culprit kept giving the ZPD to tell where he'd strike next. Despite doing so, it was still a very difficult case for all of us, but we ultimately managed to nab him and put an end to his arson spree before he could really put the public in serious danger."

"I'd been working with the ZFD for three years by that point, so Reggie, myself and a handful of others had already distinguished ourselves and had been made into our own elite unit to tackle major cases like that serial arson. I still have the culprits' info right here, just in case you feel the need to go over it," Bullba interjected before pulling out a manila envelope from his suit pocket and handed it to the fox and bunny who proceeded to promptly look it over. Staring back at them was an especially vicious looking black panther with orange eyes, or at least one, as the other one was clouded over as though he were partially blind.

"His name is Leonard Pantera. He had no criminal record prior to this case. Most of us believe he just…SNAPPED one day, felt like the world needed to be cleansed, or maybe it was just some violent yet desperate cry for attention, as tends to be the case with a lot of these situations. When we caught him, didn't take a whole lot to have him put away. Needless to say, he swore revenge on all of us before they locked him up. However, he ended up escaping from prison three years later, but he never went after any of us; not me, Bogo, Reggie, or any of the others."

"We were all on high alert when it initially happened, but after nearly five months without so much as a peep, we let our guards down. We ultimately came to the conclusion that he'd simply drifted away, either to a whole other city or maybe even country, or that he just decided to go living in isolation from the rest of the world. Regardless, we'd still set up a state-wide mammal-hunt for him, but we never came up with anything," Bogo added on. This was all so much new information for Nick and Judy to work with. The possibilities had suddenly gone from nonexistent to nearly limitless. A prolonged attempt at revenge? It made perfect sense with this story, and now they finally had a name and a face to look out for.

"The only thing that really bothers me about this whole thing is the timing. Pantera escaped from prison ten years ago, and to hear him talk, you'd think he would've come gunning for us the instant he was out, but no. Instead he goes a whole ten years in complete silence only to suddenly make his move NOW. I know I may be jumping to conclusions saying he's the culprit, but really, just the fact that a fire this expertly planned out suddenly happened in the same apartment my oldest and closest ZFD comrade was living in just strikes me as way too convenient to just be a freak coincidence," Bullba stated his theory while Judy, Nick and Bogo couldn't all help but agree. Sure they could still happen, but things like this didn't happen in the world of the ZPD that could just be written off as freak occurences.

"Do you think it's possible he might be gunning for you now that you're officially running for City Senator? Maybe he's targeting your old friends as a means to scare you off," Judy suggested, and the realization on Bullba's face nearly seemed like a literal lightbulb would've gone on over his head.

"Or maybe he went after the last place anyone new Mr. Aslani was living as some kind of a warning. Maybe he might go after you, the chief or any of your other old firefighting buddies next, and he just attempted this fire at the Rainforest District port to try and throw us off some kind of pattern," Nick also theorized, and the energy and drive to suddenly look into all these new options could nearly be physically felt in the air of Chief Bogo's office now.

"These are all good ideas to throw around, but I'm afraid that last one isn't as likely, Mr. Wilde. You see, with the exception of Reggie…well, the rest of my friends from my old unit…well…th-they're not with us anymore," Bullba confessed, and it was like all life had suddenly been sucked out of the room in that instant.

"That's right, that high-rise fire six years back. I'm sorry, Viktor," Bogo expressed his condolences while Bullba took a moment to wipe a glimmer from his eye.

"Don't be, Bogo, please. It was a…a very hard time for all of us, but they went out performing their sworn duty. If there's anything I know is a certainty in this world, it's that they wouldn't have had any regrets. Saving lives was what we all lived for," Bullba explained with a heavy sense of nostalgia in his voice now.

"*ahem* anyway, the possibility of Pantera trying to scare me off now that I'm the most popular candidate is a very good possibility. It would explain why he's waited so long to make a move. The only problem now is how we're supposed to deal with him. Before, he'd always end up sending the ZPD some kind of message, like a riddle, to hint where he'd strike next. You haven't received any strange packages over the last two days, have you, Bogo?" Bullba asked before the chief gave him a sullen shake of the head.

"Actually, sirs, there were a couple clues we found at the port fire this morning we thought would be worth mentioning. Officer Wilde came across a trail of that incendiary gel the culprit deliberately left that led to one of the warehouses. He'd burned all the stolen security camera footage in a steel drum inside, and we found this on the wall," Judy quickly piped in as she took out her phone and presented them with the photo of the two spray painted spots.

"Are you suggesting this is connected to that one spot we found in the apartment, Hopps?" Bogo asked while Bullba himself looked to now be deep in thought.

"It's one of the better leads we have to go on, sir. We're not sure if it's meant to serve as some kind of message like Mr. Bullba suggested, but my personal theory is that it may be the culprit's means of keeping tally, almost as if to mock us," Judy explained; earning a sudden nod of agreement from Bullba.

"It's not outside the realm of possibility. One of the key factors to solving a case like this is to try and get inside the culprit's head; try to gain an understanding just HOW they think. It still won't be easy, but it could at least help us to theorize WHERE they might strike next," Bullba added on; earning a proud smile from the little bunny that she could be on the right track.

"There was something else, though I'm not sure if it's ultimately that useful. Carrots interviewed a security guard who'd been knocked out and stuffed into his locker before the fire started, and she mentioned he'd smelt lavender before he'd gotten knocked out, and when I found that jelly trail to the warehouse, I realized it smelled like lavender too. At the time I just figured we hadn't smelled it at that apartment fire because it was being overpowered by the heavy smoke and cinder smell inside," Nick also piped in, and all at once Bullba nearly leaped out of his chair with eyes wide.

"It has to be Pantera doing all this then. It just HAS to be! Most times arsonists make that incendiary gel, it only ever has that standard bar of soap smell to it. But back in that original case, he always made his concoction with a hint of lavender to give it that distinctive smell; almost like it was his sick little trademark, something that would make us notice and focus on him.

"This is big, everyone. I think it's safe to say we have a suspect to look out for now. Obviously a fire as big as the one at the port won't go unnoticed, so you all just leave dealing with the press and the public to me. They'll need to be reassured that the ZPD and the ZFD will be doing everything in their power to make sure the arsonist is put safely behind bars. Bogo, I don't mean to overstep my boundaries with you being chief of the ZPD and all, but I suggest you send your best forensics officers to the scenes again, and let me know the INSTANT they find anything noteworthy they might've missed the first time around."

It was like a fire had ironically enough been lit under Bullba as he was resisting the urge to make a beeline for the door, no doubt to arrange a press conference so he could get everything he wanted out to the public; but he managed to stop and turn to Nick and Judy before he was halfway out the door.

"You've done fantastically so far, Officers Hopps and Wilde. I knew you were regarded as city heroes for a reason. Keep up the great work on this case, and if you EVER need to see me for consultation or any kind of help, don't hesitate to come down to city hall. I'll gladly assist you in whatever ways I can," the once-again jovial Viktor Bullba thanked them with a respectful bow of his head as the fox and bunny alike gave him a respectful salute in return. Lord knew that if this case was going to continue being as difficult as it was, they'd be holding him to it.

 **Later that night, in an unassuming basement somewhere in the city center…**

The sweltering humidity of the small nearly pitch black room was almost unbearable as an unknown individual hidden within the shadows save for a single desk light was hunched over, hard at work at putting together a small metal device with a tiny battery and a few other tiny mechanical moving parts inside its hollow tube body.

Slipping a covering tube over it, and after setting up a few complex wire attachments, like a mechanics-based heart surgeon hard at work on the most delicate procedure; the stranger looked over his strange new invention; switching his gaze from the metal device to a medium-sized tub of clear jelly, and then finally to a small one-button remote in his paw. Without any hesitation, he took a few steps back from the small metal device before hitting the button, and like clockwork, the small metal tube quickly descended into the larger tube overlapping it; the movement producing a considerable spark. After a few more button presses, the device continued the simple spark-producing movement with every single push with perfect timing.

"Perfect. Just a few more…and it'll be time."

 **Well everyone, that's Chapter 3. I gotta say, it was really hard for me to put this chapter together and put out all the details I felt were absolutely necessary and portray them in a way that would make sense. This is my lack of expertise writing a real mystery making itself known here. Now as a result, I'll most likely end up taking a considerable amount more time putting Chapter 4 together, especially with my next college semester slowly but steadily approaching, in which case I'll have to devote more time I normally would writing to that.**

 **But ultimately, I aim to see this story through to the end, and I only hope I don't end up losing any of you along the way. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I'd really love to hear your thoughts on how I'm doing with all this so far. Thank you all so much for all your support.**

 **P.S. I've been getting a tiny bit more creative with the animal-pun based names this movie is so well-known for, this time by using the names of certain animals as they are in foreign languages. And it just so turns out that panther in Spanish also translates to one of my favorite metal bands of all time, so double points for that happy accident.**


	4. Momentary Calm

**Hello again, everyone. Well, Chapter 3 was more of a slog for me to struggle and put together than I'd normally like to admit, but given some extra time to put some details together, I actually feel a little more confident this chapter could come together in a more timely and narratively effective manner, or at least I can only hope it will by the end. Some of you have pointed out that this story feels more like a suspenseful action or adventure story rather than a mystery, which upon looking back I can see why. I suppose I just wanted to try my hand at making a story and atmosphere at least somewhat similar to the original movie and didn't even realize I wasn't putting together a legitimate mystery so far, so I guess suspense is a good word for it.**

 **Anyway, enough of my pointless rambling. Here's Chapter 4, and I can only hope you all are able to enjoy it as you have the previous ones so far.**

 **Zootopia and its characters do not belong to me, they are property of Disney.**

Ever since the initial meeting with Chief Bogo and Viktor Bullba, the prevailing atmosphere among the citizens had become considerably tenser, or perhaps even paranoid. As he'd said he would, he wasted no time assembling a press conference to console and reassure the people in the face of the recent Rainforest District port fire that all efforts and measures were being taken by the ZPD and ZFD alike.

But if the great increase in ZPD calls all across the city over the following five days was the result of Bullba's numerous conferences with the press, then nobody even WANTED to think about what they could've been looking at if he'd kept his silence from the public.

While miraculously, no more of their elusive arsonist's fires had come up in the last five days, the overall feeling of unrest in the city didn't make Nick and Judy's jobs any easier. If anything, the overhanging sense of tension that now hung over the city had managed to make their jobs more stressful. There didn't seem to be one day now where they didn't have to get in the middle of some kind of dispute; mostly consisting of wary business owners casting their suspicions on individual customers and accusing them of trying to start fires.

The fifth day had been especially stressful, with the two having to break apart a multiple-mammal confrontation in downtown Tundra Town. A congregation of polar bears, moose and snow leopards had gotten into a nasty confrontation with each other at a local ice-skating rink, and when Nick and Judy had tried to pacify it; the entire crowd had gotten one involuntary twitch away from trading physical blows with each other and taking the two hapless ZPD officers with them.

Despite the fact luck had decided to get in the way and have the crowd begrudgingly break up, it didn't leave the poor fox and bunny couple any less emotionally exhausted by the time they'd finally returned home, even overly reluctant to turn on the TV in fear of seeing yet more news coverage of some more public disturbances that were becoming disturbingly numerous no matter how many they kept stepping into and breaking up.

"What are we going to do about all this, Carrots? I thought when he said he was gonna address the public; it'd help stop a panic. Why then is everybody freaking out on each other everywhere we go now?" Nick asked in exhausted frustration as he collapsed onto the living room sofa like a pile of bricks.

"I get the frustration, Nick, believe me. But I can't honestly blame the people either. They're all scared, and for good reason. There's somebody out there starting fires, and they don't know if their homes or businesses are gonna be next, and the fact nobody knows who it is doesn't help. That's why we need to do what we can to find him and stop him before anybody gets hurt," Judy explained before once more climbing onto the sofa and spooning with Nick like she always did; relishing in the feeling of her dear fox's heartbeat against her back.

"I know that, Carrots. But the fact we haven't even gotten any calls for a fire in the last five days…well, it's really making me anxious. I can't really believe that this guy would start two fires in seemingly random spots in the city, and then suddenly stop. It doesn't make any sense to me," Nick mentioned, to which Judy couldn't argue. She didn't like the fact their mystery arsonist was suddenly being so quiet either. She could only imagine they had to be up to something huge, and just the thought nearly made her fur stand on end, just from the pain of not really knowing when they were going to make a move, and just what it was going to be.

"I know what you mean. Not really knowing who we're looking for, where they are or what they're up to on top of all the unrest? It's got me feeling really tense lately," she agreed just as Nick began softly rubbing her folded ears in that way he knew always managed to at least partially relieve her tension.

"Not just that, Carrots. I don't know about you, but lately I keep getting this weird feeling like…like whenever we're out on the streets, we're being watched. I know there are all those security cameras all over the place, but I mean like WE'RE being watched specifically. Just the fact that the guy left those specific clues at the port for us to follow…you'd almost think he'd be purposefully leading us along, wouldn't you?" Nick asked, mainly to himself while Judy was at a loss for an answer. Truth be told, she'd been feeling the same unsettling sensation, but didn't want to speak out about it lest she just come across as turning paranoid. But now that her partner had expressed the same sentiment, it left her feeling all the more uneasy that she apparently wasn't just imagining it.

"But that couldn't be possible, Nick. All the security camera footage gets transmitted to city hall. If the culprit really WAS watching us, he'd have to be set up there, right in the figurative lion's den," she tried to reason with the fox, while he remained deep in his own thoughts.

"Normally, yeah. But we've already seen how careful the guy is. And clearly it's someone who knows the city inside and out, or else they wouldn't be able to get around without getting spotted as smoothly as they have been. Maybe they found some way to get a front row view through the cameras themselves without having to go through the city hall system," Nick theorized, and that all at once sent Judy's anxiety up another several notches. Now she wasn't going to be able to set foot outside without double-taking over her shoulder at every street corner.

"You know, Nick, as much as I'm thrilled to see you really taking the job seriously for once…I have to admit, seeing you be THIS serious about everything is actually kind of unsettling," Judy reluctantly admitted while Nick brought his forepaws around her waist; pulling her in closer.

"Trust me, Carrots; I don't like being serious all the time either. It's downright unhealthy. But…ah, heck, we already had this talk once before, I don't wanna have to say it again," Nick tried to explain himself before realizing there was no point; all while the bunny in his arms turned herself over to look her partner in the eye.

"That nervousness you told me about before? Yeah, I can't imagine all of this is making that any easier to deal with, huh?" she asked rhetorically while Nick just gave her a charitable nod to let her know she was on the right track.

"Well, yeah, this case is part of it, but right now it's the way everyone's acting out there that's really making it worse. I mean, you can't tell me this isn't giving you at least SOME flashbacks to what happened with the Night Howlers, can you?" Nick asked as Judy nearly felt her blood go cold.

He had a good point. The city hadn't been this restless since her unintentional press conference mishap. The last two years had been so peaceful since that case wrapped up, she'd nearly forgotten the almost unbearable weight this kind of tension could put on one's heart. And now that it was starting to manifest itself again, she began to feel an unpleasant cold in the pit of her stomach that she could only imagine her partner was experiencing as well.

"I'm gonna be straight with you, Carrots. When that all happened, I didn't see nearly as much of it as you did cause I make a habit of keeping my head down. But now that we're right there in the middle of it all…it's got me feeling way too nervous these days," the fox continued as Judy struggled for the right words to quell his anxiety.

"Don't worry, Nick. We just gotta keep our noses to the grindstone and do everything we can to find the firebug and put him behind bars. Once that's done and the people know it, surely this can't go on," she tried to reassure him; although the worrisome look in his green eyes didn't falter.

"It's not that, Carrots. Yeah, the sooner we get this guy, the sooner things can go back to normal, but it's what we do until then that I keep thinking about. I mean, look what happened today. Those people were ready to tear each other apart, and we were right dead center of it all. I mean, I was there with you, and even I don't know how we were able to keep a full blown brawl from breaking out.

"I just…I just can't help but look back on this last week and ask myself if we're way too in over our heads with this one, you know? I keep thinking that things around here are just going to get a lot worse before they get any better, and it always…well, it always makes me worry about you; if something might happen to you that I can't do anything about."

The apartment was deathly silent as Nick had finally expressed the core of where all this unnatural anxiety and stress of his manifested from, and Judy could only stare into her precious fox's eyes at a loss for words. She knew she couldn't just tell him that nothing would happen, she couldn't predict the future. She couldn't tell him that they'd be fine so long as they stuck together either. There was only so much the two of them could hope to protect each other from out there on the streets. For once, the competent and determined ZPD officer that was Judy Hopps, always equipped with a solution for everything, had no idea how to answer the fox whose stomach she was currently lying on.

Instead, she did the only thing she could think of in this moment that made any sense to her; taking Nick's head into her paws and meeting him with a single lingering, heartfelt kiss; the kind she always felt could communicate what she wanted to say to him better than any paltry words could. It was the only way she could think of to express to him how much his concern and desire to protect her truly meant to her, and how she had no intention of letting anything happen to either of them or drive them apart.

It took no time at all before she felt the tension in Nick's body quickly fade away as he seemed to loosen up and let himself be consumed in her kiss as he finally began to return it likewise; Judy's little body nearly trembling at the pleasant feeling of his forepaws comfortably wrapping around her waist and holding her close.

"Y'know, Carrots, I REALLY hate it when you do that," Nick said once their mouths had finally parted; although there wasn't a trace of annoyance or any such thing to be found, almost as if Judy knew exactly where her beloved fox was going with this.

"Oh? Do what exactly?" she asked; humoring him with a sly grin on her adorable grey fuzzy face.

"Manage to say everything I wanna hear without actually saying anything. Almost makes me think you're trying to prove you're more clever than me," Nick explained with an amused grin while starting to gently stroke her folded ears; loving how she was trying to resist the urge to let her whole body shake at how good that felt.

"Well…ONE of us has to be the brains of the duo, don't they?" she asked teasingly, to which Nick playfully scoffed in offense.

"That's some pretty bold talk for someone who let herself get conned out of twenty bucks on her first day on the job, isn't it?" he asked sarcastically while Judy felt her whole face flare up in embarrassment, while also still loving their seemingly endless game of wits they always played with each other.

"Are you ever going to let me live that down?" she asked while nick now looked to be deep in thought.

"If it were anyone else that did it, maybe. But since it was me…no, I don't think I will," he stated bluntly while Judy just giggled in amusement to herself before nuzzling into his neck like always.

"Good. Means there's no chance we'll ever forget how we first met. Now come here, dumb fox," she stated as though they were a long-time married couple before finally tackling her partner once again to the point they almost rolled right off the sofa; meeting each other in another series of passionate kisses, never leaving each other's' embraces.

When words failed, this was the one thing they knew would always assure them that they could handle anything so long as they were together. This moment, these indescribable sensations of affection and unparalleled love they felt for each other when away from the prying eyes of the world; these things nobody could ever hope to take away from them. And in the end, for the fox and bunny alike, that was all that mattered. They had become the world for each other, and the world was all they ever needed when all was said and done.

Tonight, despite all the deeply-rooted fears, worries, doubts and concerns they had been forced to acknowledge in the wake of this monstrous case; without any further words needing to be said, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps could help each other forget the world outside their walls if only for the night.

 **The Next Morning…**

If Nick, feeling as on edge as he had from the events of yesterday, had known what was awaiting him right off the bat after the daily debriefing, chances were he would've called in sick forever.

To his remarkably restrained disbelief, Chief Bogo had assigned him and Judy on foot patrol in the single largest gathering spot in the Rainforest District: the Amazon galleria, the biggest shopping center in the whole section of the city. From its sheer scale, one would be hard pressed to simply refer to it as a shopping mall. If anything, it was more like its own miniature city contained within one major skyscraper in the northeast section of the district. It was easily for 90% of the district population went to mingle and such.

Of course, none of this made the fox feel any less tense after what had already been brewing all across the city. Of course, since no further leads on the serial arsonist case had come up, he should've known Bogo would come up with something to keep the two of them busy, but being among large numbers of people like this was something he preferred to avoid altogether to begin with. Now that everyone was on the verge of getting at each other's throats at a moment's notice, it just made it all the worse. If anything like yesterday were going to happen here, there'd be no chance of them being able to stop it from turning into a full blown riot.

It was all these negative possibilities racing through Nick's head as they ventured throughout the galleria that made the abundantly confident grin on Judy's face more than a little unnerving for him.

"You seem to be in an exceptionally good mood; considering where we are and what we know could happen," Nick pointed out sarcastically while Judy's purposeful stride didn't falter.

"That's because I'm glad Chief Bogo allowed us to come here," she stated bluntly; not even noticing Nick momentarily stop in surprised confusion.

"Maybe feel like letting me in on what that's supposed to mean?" he asked as he hurried to catchup to her as she seemed to be getting faster with each step, almost to the point they were running past everyone.

"There's a possible lead I've been dwelling on for the last few days, and earlier I messaged the chief to see if he'd be willing to let us follow up on it," she explained; no longer able to contain the optimistic excitement in her voice.

"And I'm guessing the fact he said yes is why you're so darn happy-looking?" he asked rhetorically as they finally slowed down upon reaching the biggest courtyard in the galleria.

"Well, yeah, there's that…and also the fact we're gonna be paying some old acquaintances a surprise visit," she finally confirmed as Nick gave her a look of momentary blankness that she couldn't help but find adorable in an almost childlike way; her smile practically beaming as she sauntered on over to a storefront window adorned with a multitude of flowers; the sign above the doorframe reading 'OTTERTON FLOWERS & BOUQUETS.

The interior of the flower shop was filled with such a dizzying amount of different colored flowers, and altogether gave the place an aroma so powerful, it almost lingered on overwhelming. But nevertheless, the two cops made their way further inside, soon coming across an all too familiar small river otter in a pair of corduroy slacks and a green cable-knit sweater vest; currently standing atop a stepping stool to place flower pots atop a shelf.

"Need any help up there, sir?" Nick asked once it was clear Emmett Otterton hadn't felt their presence for a few seconds; nearly causing the older mammal to topple from the stepping stool before managing to find his balance and even get the last flower pot in place, all the while gasping for breath while Judy shot her partner a momentary disapproving glance.

"Oh, good heavens, you nearly scared the life out of me Mr.…oh, oh my goodness, Ms. Hopps, Mr. Wilde, what a pleasant surprise this is," Emmett exclaimed as he shakily stepped back onto solid ground before his eyes widened behind his glasses once he realized who he was talking to.

"Good morning, Mr. Otterton. How are you feeling?" Judy greeted the old river otter, unable to help but ask about his health out of sheer habit after the state he'd been in when they'd first actually met him; two years or no two years.

"Well, I feel just fine now that I'm on terra firma again. I must say, Mr. Wilde, you've gotten my heart running faster than I think it has in years," Emmett said matter-of-factly while Nick just gave an amused little shrug as if to show he couldn't help himself.

"Emmett, is everything alright out there? I thought I heard a noise—oh my goodness, Ms. Hopps, Mr. Wilde! What are you two doing here?" the all-too familiar voice of Mrs. Otterton called out from around a corner; her face soon beaming happily just like her husbands the instant she saw her family's two personal heroes again, nearly breaking into a run to meet Judy with a hug.

"Good morning, Mrs. Otterton. It's great to see you again. How've you both been doing?" Judy greeted her as the happily reunited married couple looked as though they couldn't have been happier.

"Oh, we're just wonderful after everything you both have done for us, Ms. Hopps. We honestly can't thank you enough even now," Mrs. Otterton answered almost as blissfully as though it were still the day she'd finally gotten her Emmett back.

"Well, it's all in a day's work for ol' Carrots here, so I'm sure she's used to the praise," Nick piped in with a devious little smirk while Judy could only smile in bashful embarrassment.

"Well regardless, you both have my everlasting gratitude for bringing me back to my family and putting an end to all that ugliness back then. So if there's ever anything you want, all you need do is ask," Emmett offered as his wife nodded in enthusiastic agreement before rejoining his side. At least they'd finally given Judy an opening to get to what she was really looking for amid all the pleasantries.

"In fact, there actually IS something Carrots was looking for; but I know how much you hate having me speak for you, so I'll be keeping watch outside the door if you need me," nick interjected before Judy could speak; chuckling at the look of annoyance on her fuzzy face as he quickly stepped back out the door with his paws behind his back and a confident swagger in his step.

"Is everything alright, Ms. Hopps?" Emmett asked concernedly as Judy watched after her partner until he was out of sight; unable to hide the faint glimmer of concern in her gaze to know that he'd be out there by himself in case something were to happen.

"What? Oh, yeah, everything's fine. Nick's just keeping watch in case any more disturbances come up. We've had to keep an eye out for any of those fights that have been breaking out the last few days," Judy quickly explained while Mr. and Mrs. Otterton both looked at each other with worry.

"Oh yes, we've been hearing all about that on the news. To think that everyone would be so quick to turn on each other over ONE mammal setting fires. We thought people would be less hasty to judge each other after the Night Howlers. We thought they would've hopefully learned," Emmett stated with clear disappointment; his gaze now focused on the multitudes of other mammals going about their daily business outside his window.

"Well, I'm sure once they catch that arsonist, wherever he might be, and the ZPD lets them know they have nothing to worry about, things will go back to normal. They just have to," Mrs. Otterton chimed in with a little more optimism.

"Actually, funny you should mention that. See, we've actually been involved in investigating those arson cases, and there's a lead we found at both scenes that I felt you'd be able to help me with. I realize there must be at least a hundred other florists in Zootopia, but you were the first ones that came to mind," Judy finally mentioned, and all at once both Otterton's looked to be at full attention and willingness.

"Of course, Ms. Hopps. If there's anything at all we can help you with, you only have to ask," Emmett offered with no hesitation.

"Thank you. You see, at both scenes, we found this weird incendiary gel that we believe is what started the fires. The ZFD told us arsonists generally use it because of how easy it is to make with common household supplies. However, the kind we found had a distinct lavender scent to it, which we believe the suspect is using to distinguish themselves, like a kind of trademark. So I was hoping you could be able to tell me if you've had any customers over the last week or two who might have purchased a large amount of lavender flowers," Judy went on to describe; glad to see that instead of forgetfulness or early disappointment, there was actually a knowing look on Emmett's face. All she could keep thinking to herself was to ask that this please give her a real lead.

"Well, we haven't had anyone come in person to purchase any, but I may have an answer for you. See, recently we've looked into expanding our business into even handling deliveries of larger than normal shipments, since the city is always growing and such. We've been doing this for about six months now, and a couple months ago, we got this huge order over the computer for a series of deliveries of nothing but lavender flowers to be delivered every two weeks to a number of different locations across the city. They are very popular around this time of year," Emmett proceeded to explain as Judy already began hastily scribbling everything she could down.

"Yes, it seemed odd that the customer requested they be brought to the addresses they'd listed over such a long period of time instead of all at once, but we eventually figured it might've been something elaborate that the customer wanted to do for someone else, like some way of extending a personal celebration of some kind. It made sense the more we thought about it, plus the customer had paid for the entire thing on the spot by credit card, so we didn't think it was anything to be too curious about," Mrs. Otterton chimed in.

"Did you manage to get a good look at the customer who placed this order? Did they meet you at any of the delivery spots?" Judy asked while Emmett immediately shook his head in disappointment.

"Unfortunately no. That was the only thing that struck me as a little odd. Normally if they'd ordered over the phone, I would've needed to see them so they could be able to pay unless it was by card; but I figured that since they'd already paid when placing the order, I might as well leave the boxes at their doorstep. Honestly, the only thing that was constantly on my mind during all this was how strange it was they were asking only for lavenders, and so many at that. Usually people only order a few mixed into a bouquet, not just the one type specifically."

"When exactly was the last delivery for that order? Do you remember where exactly it was so we could follow up on it?" Judy asked almost before Emmett had even finished speaking.

"It was almost two weeks ago to the day, actually. It was at 1110 Archipelago Way; apartment 017. It's just on the southern end of Tundra Town," Emmett quickly recalled; too deep in thought to even see Judy's whole expression brightening up as she wrote everything down. At last, after so many hopes turning into disappointments, a real concrete lead!

"I could print you out the information for the card they paid with, too. Maybe it could prove useful as well," Mrs. Otterton quickly offered, already on her way around the corner to the back office before Judy could even answer. It would be a great secondary lead, but she wouldn't have been surprised if the culprit had either already terminated the card so as not to be followed, or they would've stolen it while the original owner wasn't looking; essentially throwing them off the trail.

Of course, any average criminal would've known not to do something as risky as paying with a card and risking a paper trail, but to have actually showed their face and allow the Otterton's to provide a composite sketch would've been even riskier. If they'd been able to avoid getting identified by the security cameras up to this point already, it was clear they were too smart to make a mistake like that. Nevertheless, she wasn't about to deny any leads she could be given.

"I'm sorry we couldn't have given you more details to work with, Ms. Hopps," Emmett apologized once his wife had returned with a printout for Judy.

"Please, you have nothing to apologize for, Mr. Otterton. You both have been so much more helpful than you think. We're going to follow up on this address and this card and see where we go from there. Thank you both so much," Judy reassured the otter couple as she was already making her way back out the door; a near literal spring in her step. She almost had half a mind to skip informing HQ about this and heading right there with Nick in tow, she almost couldn't keep her excitement bolted down.

At least until she was back out into the galleria and realized Nick was no longer standing at the entrance like he'd been when she last saw him.

All at once, her ears dropped and her previous excitement and sense of accomplishment had been replaced with a chilling and nearly overwhelming sense of worry brewing deep within her little gut. Nick knew to inform her of anything he'd be doing over their radios if he ever had to split up from her, and she would've heard it if he did so, so where was he now?! That one question was nearly deafening in its persistence as Judy nearly felt the need to call out to him from within the crowd like a mother that had been separated from her child or visa versa.

"Nick, where are you? If you can hear me, respond ASAP," she stated on the border of an emotional outburst into her radio; not even caring if anyone saw her barely maintaining her composure.

"Right here, if you really need to know, so you can put that heart attack on hold," Nick's voice suddenly answered right behind her; nearly making the on edge bunny leap three feet in the air; her heart pounding hard at her chest as she finally saw her partner's almost permanent grinning face looking down at her as her paws were shaking too much to even properly holster her radio for the first few seconds.

"Don't you EVER scare me like that again, stupid fox! I had no idea where to look for you, and then I started thinking-t-that doesn't matter. Where the heck did you GO? I thought you said you'd be outside the flower shop," she exclaimed in near hysterics; thankfully managing to stop herself before letting her more unpleasant ideas come back.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Fluff. I thought I heard some commotion coming from a nearby jewelry store, so I thought I'd at least check it out and make sure," Nick apologized sincerely, even giving her the courtesy of squatting down to her eye level as she slowly yet thankfully seemed to be calming down.

"You should've radioed me first, Nick, you know that. For all you knew you could've been walking into another situation like yesterday," Judy continued to reprimand him much less harshly as he gave her a childish little nod of apology.

"I know, but I also know how much this whole case has been bugging you too; not just me. I felt you'd really want to focus and see if you could dig up anything we could work with, so I didn't wanna ruin that by breaking your train of thought," Nick further explained himself while Judy by now was still trying to look serious, although she couldn't keep her lips from starting to form a smile to hear her usually-so mischievous troublemaker of a partner be so considerate.

"Well aren't you sweet? Just do us both a favor and don't go running off like that without at least radioing me first, okay?" she finally relented as she motioned for Nick to follow her as they began making their way for the nearest exit.

"Yes, Momma Bun," Nick accepted with that same unmistakable sarcasm. It always did make him feel more than a little proud of himself that seemingly no matter what, that adorable little cottontail couldn't ever stay mad at him.

"So don't go keeping me in suspense. How did your little situation go?" she asked after letting out an involuntary giggle at what was bound to become yet another staple nickname for her.

"Better than I'd initially hoped, actually. Turns out it was just a dispute between a cashier and a customer over how much this gaudy-looking necklace cost. All I had to do was step in and fortunately they snapped out of it and just let it go. Good thing too, one of them was a grizzly, looked like he could've flattened me without even having to touch me," Nick explained; almost as if it were already one of those memories one could look back on and laugh about.

"Well look at you, Mr. Peacekeeper. Last year I wasn't sure if you'd be able to handle dealing with the public without me. Looks like Momma Bun's little fox finally kicked off the training wheels," Judy proclaimed with an air of both sarcastic and genuine pride in her partner as Nick just scratched the back of his head in mild embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah, don't milk it too much there, Carrots. So, did you find whatever you were hoping to out of old Emmett and the Mrs.?" Nick quickly got to asking once they had rounded the last corner leading out to the main entrance.

"Thankfully yes. Turns out a couple months ago, they got a big order for a bunch of lavender flowers to be sent out to a bunch of random addresses over several weeks. No one was present at any of the addresses when Mr. Otterton delivered them, but he was able to give me the last address he went to a couple weeks ago, and Mrs. Otterton even gave me the info for the credit card that paid for it," Judy went into great detail; once again nearly shaking with excitement as she presented the address and printout, to which even Nick looked genuinely impressed.

"Way to go, Detective Hopps. Seems like such a waste you choose to be a regular beat cop with little old me. So you wanna run it by the chief now? Maybe you can follow up on the card info and I can investigate that address, see what I can find," Nick congratulated his partner with a friendly rub on her head; causing his partner to blush furiously while trying to hide the almost giddy smile on her face.

"I know we'd cover more bases doing it like that, but we have no idea what might be waiting at that address. Let's not forget that clue they deliberately left for us at the port. We can't risk thinking he might not potentially be watching us, so I say we run this by Chief Bogo and decide from there what we—"

 **BKHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

The entire galleria nearly felt like it was shaking down to its very foundations as the once peaceful yet busy buzz of the people going about their daily business was interrupted by the most catastrophic and deafening sounding explosion anyone could imagine. Nick and Judy nearly fell right off their feet as the whole galleria shook and swayed; sending the crowds into an absolute panic of screams and cries as they all made massive rushes for the nearest exits, inadvertently forcing Nick to grab Judy and pull her to the very wall so the two small mammals could avoid getting trampled by the crowds.

"Holy cripes, what the heck was that?" Nick asked; barely managing to be heard over the cacophony of screams soon joined by the multitude of fire alarms ringing and echoing all throughout the galleria.

"I don't know; but whatever it was, it was BIG! C'mon," Judy immediately ordered as she broke out of Nick's hold and made a mad dash for the exit with Nick hot on her heels. By the time they reached the doors, the majority of the crowds had already gotten out.

Once they were outside, they were met with multitudes of people standing practically shoulder to shoulder, the majority of them with their cellphones out and recording something the two couldn't see.

They had to practically shove and squeeze their way through the nearly thousands of people congregating around the entrance; the once ever-present ambient scents of the Rainforest District and the intrusive smell of all these multitudinous animals forced together in such close contact, now being replaced with a nearly suffocating and intense smell of smoke. It felt like they had barely gotten halfway through the crowd before the sound of all their cellphone cameras clicking and their numerous murmurs of nervous fear and cries and shouts was soon joined by the unmistakable sound of a blazing inferno up ahead, almost instantly accompanied by scorching heat.

Nick and Judy nearly felt like they were going to be crushed making their way through the most dense part of the petrified crowd before they finally found themselves out in the open and able to catch a breath. But what they saw before them that had the audience so entranced and in such shellshock nearly took the breath out of their lungs.

In front of them and nearly tens of thousands of speechless citizens of Zootopia, the Amazon galleria's parking garage had three of its middle floors consumed in a massive raging fire, almost as if every car on those three floors had exploded simultaneously. The fox and bunny could barely manage to keep looking as the stench and sting of the smoke made it much harder to breathe and see. But nevertheless, they stood glued to where they were; incapable of finding words to properly describe how they were feeling looking at this.

The possibilities came almost instantly. Had their mystery arsonist been right here under their noses, just waiting to make his move? Would he have already covered his tracks like he did before? Or did he pull some other elaborate new trick out of his sleeve to throw them off?

Either way, the only thing they both knew for certain right now was that their new leads were unfortunately gonna have to wait. Their already long work day had just gotten several days longer.

 **Alright, everyone, I know this may not seem like too eventful of a chapter, but I felt it was time for me to stop leaving you all hanging. This chapter has been a nightmare for me to put together. I am struggling so hard to try and make sure all the pieces fit, but it's finding the way to put them into words properly that makes the writing process for this particular story so difficult. And now that my college semester has officially started, that means I'm not gonna be able to devote as much time to this as I have been, but it does at least give me more time to properly brainstorm and plan the rest of this story out in the meantime, so hey, silver linings and all that.**

 **I really hope you all are able to at least partially enjoy this chapter while I figure out how to put together Chapter 5 from here. Please don't hesitate to let me know how you think I'm doing with all this.**


	5. A Message

**Hello again everyone. After the monumental slog I went through to get Chapter 4 put out, I came to a realization. Whenever I plot out these chapters, I keep trying to have so much happen in each one, as if it would be a disservice to you all to do anything less. But now I understand that if I keep on that pace, I'm just going to keep driving myself further into the ground trying to force my way through every individual paragraph; especially now that I have college and my job to contend with as well. So ultimately what I'm saying is that from this point on, don't expect the chapters to be overly long anymore. It'll help me to keep my focus and hopefully manage to piece together the overlying mystery and its details together better, and more importantly it'll make it so you all don't have to wait as long for me to bring you new chapters in the process.**

 **So with that all being said, here's Chapter 5, and I hope you all will enjoy it as much as everything else.**

 **Zootopia and its characters are property of Disney, not me.**

"Breaking news in Zootopia tonight. Earlier this morning, our fair city was shaken by a series of unexplained explosions in a series of parking garages across the eastern edge of the Rainforest District and even into the southwestern quarter of Tundra Town. With the two recent fires that have occurred in the Rainforest District port and the southern end of Sahara Square, this brings up the total of these fire-related incidents to seven. The ZPD and ZFD have been cooperating and working immensely hard to contain the fires whilst investigating the possible cause. In wake of these incidents, it is fortunate to report, however, that as of yet, no casualties or injuries have been reported as a direct result of these incidents. However, unrest only continues to grow on our streets as citizens from all corners of the city have gathered at City Hall, the ZFD and ZPD headquarters; demanding a result in the investigation and apprehension of the as-of-yet unidentified culprit responsible. It is unknown where their investigation may go or how long it will take, but we at ZNN will continue to keep you all up-to-date on every new detail to arise on this matter."

With that, Chief Bogo quickly shut off the news feed on his phone he'd mounted onto his desk to show Judy and Nick, who were both currently seated in miserable silence before him. It was as if it weren't enough they were still reeling with guilt from not being able to stop the explosion at the Amazon galleria already, but to now suddenly learn there were four others that had all happened at the exact same time? Neither of them could ever recall feeling so utterly miserable as they did right now. And the look of near homicidal, barely suppressed anger on their chief's face was NOT helping.

"How…how is this still happening?" the water buffalo's voice finally emanated, deep and low and rough as gravel; nearly enough to make the partners' fur stand on end as he sounded to be talking to himself but still wasn't taking his eyes off of them. Neither one dared ask what he meant. Knowing just how angry he looked but to hear how much he was trying to restrain himself speaking was nothing but unsettling, and one of them speaking out of turn seemed like just the thing that could finally set him off.

"The apartment and the port was bad enough. But how…how…HOW IS THIS ARSONIST ABLE TO SET UP EXPLOSIVES IN FIVE MAJOR PUBLIC PLACES AND WE STILL AREN'T ABLE TO GET ONE FRAME OF HIM ON CAMERA?!" the chief finally exploded with a powerful slam of his hoof on his desk as Nick and Judy reflexively curled back into their seats while Bogo was struggling to calm himself enough to breathe before collapsing back with an exhausted groan of frustration.

"It's utter madness is what it is. Just when we think he's gone back to hiding in whatever hole he's in, he just about jumps out and slaps us right in the face, and no matter how hard we comb the city, he's always ahead of us. This firebug is making us into a public punchline and sending everyone into a frenzy. If we can't come up with a solid way of finding him soon, they're going to start calling for our heads, and that's the BEST case scenario. Worst is we get the public going vigilante and trying to find him themselves. If that happens, with everybody at each other's throat enough as it is, all form of order starts to crumble from there. We've got a flame lit under this city now and we have no way of keeping it from boiling over."

By now Bogo had all his attention finally taken from the fox and bunny in front of his desk and now had his tired yet still worrisome gaze focused on the large gathering of restless citizens and reporters that had formed a mob outside the entrance. Just the thought of having to go out there and TRY to console and calm these people made the chief feel like he was practically aging where he stood.

"Sir, is there anything we can do to help? I mean, maybe we could try talking those people down for you," Nick very hesitantly spoke up; almost instantly cramming his paw into his mouth when Bogo just shot him a glare over his shoulder at the redundancy of asking for helpful ideas.

"Now, of all times, is NOT the time for your feeble jokes, Wilde. If I had solid ideas on how you two could help make the rest of this day go by smoother, you think I'd actually waste my breath talking to myself first? And you can forget going out there to talk to the press too. I've been doing press conferences for years and it still never gets easier when you don't have good news to give them. A still-fresh beat cop like you? They'd eat you alive; in this case maybe even literally with how restless things are getting out there," the chief instantly refuted while Nick involuntarily squirmed in his chair at the thought of being in front of all those people that were just barely refraining from calling for blood.

"Normally I'd agree with offering to help out there too, Nick, but do you really wanna know what it feels like to be up there and say the wrong thing to those people? And this is ME talking, you know I know what I'm talking about here," Judy reluctantly agreed which seemed to say it all to her partner even clearer than Bogo's own warning. Of course he knew she knew; he was there for it firsthand. Just remembering made him nearly want to slap himself for suggesting something so insane.

"Has there been any other word from Mr. Bullba recently, sir?" she finally took the chance to ask as Bogo let out yet another aggravated groan.

"I've been meaning to get in touch with him all day since it happened, but no luck. Can't say I'm too surprised, though. The mob at City Hall is bound to be twice what we're looking at here. Chances are his entire campaign team is in a panic. Promising the safety of the people was what his entire run was built on, and now that's all falling apart from under his hooves. I wouldn't expect any word from him for quite some time, Hopps," the chief stated with his own air of disappointment while Judy slowly bowed her head. She didn't even want to think of just how on edge he must've been with a scared and angry crowd outside his door.

"Honestly, I called you two in here in the hopes you could per chance throw me a bone, give me some kind of update on your investigation that'll actually be good news for a change," he finally explained himself as both officers attention immediately picked back up.

"Well, hopefully this will be enough for you right now, sir. It turns out my hunch was right. Mr. Otterton had received an unusually large and even more strangely timed order for nothing but lavenders two months ago to be sent to several different locations across the city, and he was even able to give me the last address he'd been sent to; 1110 Archipelago Way. I know it's a stretch, sir, but—"

"But nothing, Hopps. At this point I'm just as willing to accept any lead in this forsaken case as you are. If you two want to go check it out, go right ahead. But I wouldn't recommend stepping out into the open with a crowd like that out there. Use one of the cruisers in the underground lot and be on your way. Let me know the second you find anything you think might be a clue," the chief immediately cut her off, back into full-blown authoritarian mode as he got up from his desk and proceeded to straighten himself out as he began to head out the door with Judy and Nick hot on his tail.

"Are you sure you don't wanna be with us for this one, boss? I don't think anyone would blame you for wanting to duck those meat-eating paparazzi," Nick hesitantly asked; quickly able to see the look of great reluctance in Bogo's otherwise steely gaze.

"Every part of me WANTS to take you up on that, Wilde; but it's my responsibility to go out there and keep those meat-eaters informed. You two just go out there and do your jobs," Bogo stated with an air of resignation as they finally approached the elevator.

"We won't let you down, sir. You have our word," Judy stated with no sign of disbelief in her own words; almost as if a whole new fire had been sparked inside her as she and Nick alike both stood straight, tall and courageously before their chief as the elevator doors began to close and officially separate them.

"I'll hold you to it, then. The sooner we can get the people to turn their attention towards anything but these fires, the better," Bogo officially finished the discussion as the doors shut, once again leaving Judy and Nick by themselves. Without any wasted time, Judy grabbed Nick's paw and began making a beeline for the nearest stairwell that led to the underground lot.

"You know we don't really have anything more to work with than when we came here, Carrots. Mind sharing what got you so fired up?" Nick hesitated to ask before his partner quickly shot him a glare that practically screamed 'Are you serious'; instantly shutting him up.

"I'm tired of getting my hopes up and broken over and over again, Nick. So help me, I'm going to go into this with as much optimism as I can, and maybe we'll get something concrete to help us out because of it. Life can't keep dumping failures on us like this ALL the time, after all," she hurriedly explained herself as they raced down the stairwell into the thankfully empty underground lot; both of them jumping into the first cruiser they could find and nearly peeling out onto the streets in seconds.

"Yeesh, look at that mob out there. Can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I actually feel sorry for Chief Buffalo Butt for having to go talk to those people," Nick stated with an impressed-sounding whistle as they drove past the front of headquarters; finally allowing them to see the sheer size of the restless crowd that had planted themselves there since this morning.

"You and I both, Nick. Believe me, if I never have to do another press conference again, it'll be too soon," Judy agreed with a heavy air of exasperation at just the thought of having to repeat that experience again. Addressing a crowd for a ZPA graduation ceremony was one thing, but having to walk on eggshells and carefully pick every single word you use lest the media distort and misinterpret everything you say and possibly throw the populace into an unnecessary panic was something else entirely.

"Okay, so confidentiality time, Carrots. How sure do you really feel we'll find something at this Tundra Town spot of yours?" Nick finally worked up the courage to ask after another several minutes of insufferable silence had hung in the air between them.

"Oh my God, seriously, Nick? I JUST told you I'm trying to go into this as optimistically as possible so karma might kick in. Don't jinx it now," Judy immediately scolded her partner; less out of anger and more out of genuine worry that the wrong attitude could turn this into yet another dead end.

"Sorry, sorry. I keep forgetting, the optimist believes in karma and the pessimist believes in Murphy's Law. We really are a perfect pair," Nick said apologetically before once more reverting back to his default sarcasm, although clearly out of the need to try and lighten their already tense moods.

Before Judy could express her appreciation for his trademark snarky sentiment, their silence was suddenly interrupted by the humming of her cellphone resting comfortably in its quick-to-reach holster on their dashboard. Wasting no time to pull over, she quickly grabbed her phone; her expression going from curiosity to confusion and then immediately to that same burning determination as she quickly pulled their cruiser into a U-turn, heading right back for the city center.

"Heads up, partner. That was Mr. Bullba. He wants us to meet him at City Hall; said there's something huge he just realized that we need to know right now," she explained to her partner with that same excitement she always showed whenever she thought things had taken a turn for the better. And who knew? Maybe her optimism had decided to pay off early?

 **Zootopia City Hall**

Just as Chief Bogo had assumed, the mob of practically ravenous reporters and fear-driven citizens outside of City Hall made the one at the ZPD look positively miniscule, to the point it almost seemed impossible for the two cops to find a way inside without being seen and subsequently stormed upon. At least until they'd noticed a cleverly hidden attendee in civilian clothes blending in with the crowd discreetly directing them towards a side route that led to an underground lot for all the city officials. Thank goodness for small miracles.

Upon actually entering the place, it was in surprisingly much calmer spirits. Everyone still seemed to be going about their daily routine as if nothing had changed. Perhaps the people here had come to view crowds of dissatisfied or worried citizens as just another part of the job, or maybe it was some entire other part of Zootopia's governing body that was really being affected by all this unrest. Thinking about it wasn't going to solve anything, though. If Victor Bullba had something potentially helpful or enlightening to share about this case they'd somehow overlooked, they were going to find out what it was, and that's all they were going to focus on.

Upon being directed to the wing designated for the electoral candidates' respective offices, the hall itself was almost eerily quiet, as if the walls were intentionally soundproofed so nobody could overhear the occupants either discussing or yelling at their campaign runners over how best to tackle calming the people down. It wasn't at all a surprising thought that perhaps some of them might've even been thinking up ways to take advantage of the citizen's fear and unrest to give their own campaigns a possible boost. But none of that mattered now that they were here.

"I didn't think it was possible, but you can almost physically feel a mammal's natural dignity wither and die in here," Nick couldn't help but comment with a noticeable trace of contempt for the people these offices were reserved for just as they rounded a corner and Judy nearly bumped into a young adult female antelope with a bundle of folders and envelopes piled up precariously in her arms.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry," Judy instantly began frantically apologizing while she and the bespectacled antelope began awkwardly trying to step past each other while she impressively managed to keep her workload from spilling all over the floor.

"Oh, no, it's not your fault at all; I've been rushing this way and that all day trying to get everything where it's supposed to be and no one hardly ever comes through he—wait a second, are you Judy Hopps?" the female antelope quickly began casually reassuring the embarrassed-looking bunny before her brown eyes quickly grew to dinner-plate size behind her thick-framed glasses as she quickly knelt down and looked Judy over much more closely than the bunny was visibly comfortable with. But all at once, the strange mammal's expression instantly grew several shades brighter.

"Oh, you are! I KNEW you looked familiar! And that must mean YOU'RE Nick Wilde, aren't you?" she continued barely restraining herself from fangirling out as she focused her attention on the slightly less-flustered looking fox as he instinctively rejoined his partners' side while maintaining his confident grin.

"Guilty as charged. Guess it was inevitable one of you City Hall regulars would stop to call us out, huh" the fox tried to play it off casually while the antelope was barely able to stifle a giggle of sheer childlike excitement to herself.

"Oh please, I'm no regular here by any means. I'm just such a big fan of you two. You're both the best examples of what this city really means to everyone out in the world looking to chase their dreams," she stated almost dreamily while Nick just shot a knowing yet satisfied smirk to Judy while she couldn't help but feel an air of pride build up in her little chest. Even after two years; just hearing someone express just how much of an icon she and her partner were to others never lost their effect on her.

"Oh goodness, where are my manners? I almost run into you two and all I can do is blather on. Please forgive me; I'm Sherry Bullba, at your service," the young bashful antelope struggled to collect herself; even going so far as to bow unnecessarily low as she finally introduced herself; her surname instantly catching both officers' attention.

"'Bullba'? That's the reason we came here. We were looking for Mr. Bullba's office. He said he had something vital he needed to show us regarding a case," Judy quickly explained as Sherry's eyes once again grew behind her glasses.

"Oh, that's right; Daddy was saying we'd be having some surprise visitors today! Follow me; I'd be more than happy to show you the way. I know it can be such a maze in here if you're not used to it," Sherry excitedly proclaimed as she already began backtracking the way she came while urging Nick and Judy to follow her; both of them momentarily surprised that this scrawny little antelope referred to one as huge in every possible way as Victor Bullba as 'Daddy'.

As they continued silently down the winding hallways of City Hall, with her mind once again being allowed to wander; Judy eventually focused her gaze on a surprisingly extravagant-looking bracelet beset with sky blue jewels adorning Sherry's thin wrist.

"That's quite impressive, Miss Bullba. Forgive me for prying, but do you perhaps have a secret admirer working here too?" she couldn't help but ask in good humor while Sherry's whole face looked like it was nearly going to go tomato red.

"Oh no, far from it. Daddy just likes to spoil me whenever he can," she answered while Judy and Nick once again exchanged their silent yet entirely communicative glances with each other.

"So, Mr. Bullba's your father, huh? No offense to the mammal, but he didn't really strike me as the 'family mammal' type," Nick struggled to say and NOT come across as insulting while Sherry only answered him with a seemingly amused giggle to herself. It almost made them want to ask if there was ANYTHING that didn't automatically make her laugh.

"Well, yes and no, actually. See, he's obviously not my dad by birth. He took me in a while back, and I've been at his side ever since," she went on to explain with no trace of offense, sadness or anything else of the sort. Of course by now it just seemed awkward to keep discussing it; so once more the three found themselves in that awkward silence, thankfully broken by Sherry suddenly coming to a stop at the only door at the end of the last hall.

"Daddy? Officers Hopps and Wilde are here for you," Sherry greeted upon opening the door as the familiar hulking frame of Victor Bullba immediately filled the other end of the office as he rose from his desk with that same jovial camera-friendly grin on his face. One would've almost thought everything in the world was right as rain to see him grinning so brightly.

"Oh yes, of course, thank you, Sherry. Please, officers, don't stand on ceremony; come in, come in and make yourselves comfortable," Victor enthusiastically greeted the two ZPD officers before practically pulling them inside while Sherry remained obediently in the doorframe before pulling the door closed and leaving the three alone once more.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Bullba; and in such high spirits too. I wasn't sure if we'd ever hear back from you again. Chief Bogo said he's been trying to get in touch with you since this morning," Judy greeted the jovial bull as he sat himself down at his desk again; still keeping his chest puffed out as if it were a sign of his natural authority while still maintaining his inviting smile. It almost made Nick want to ask if he was even capable of NOT smiling.

"Yes, Sherry had just informed me. Unfortunately my campaign runners have been pulling me this way and that to try and find a way to salvage what we've got in light of these recent events," Bullba admitted reluctantly; finally allowing his shoulders to drop.

"Well, obviously that's why we came, sir. You said you found something that could help us?" Judy asked in an attempt to direct them right to business; which from the knowing smirk on his face, Bullba immediately noticed.

"Right to the point and ever eager to help our people sleep more peacefully at night that much sooner. I wouldn't expect anything less from you two. Fortunately yes, I do think this is something that could ultimately help you and the rest of the ZPD and ZFD in case our pyromaniac friend isn't in the mood for stopping. Take a look at this," Victor stated as he pulled out a large scroll from one of his desk drawers and practically threw it open; revealing a large map of the entirety of Zootopia draped across his desk; decorated with seven red marks, labeling the previous arson sights in the city.

"When I'd heard the news and where the explosions had taken place, something had occurred to me. Obviously working with the ZFD as long as I have, I can safely say I know this city like the back of my hoof. So when I marked down where all the fires had taken place, this was what I got," Victor explained as Judy and Nick had already proceeded looking the whole thing over; racking their brains to try and see whatever it was Victor apparently did.

"Are you really sure you should be obsessing over the case like this, Mr. Bullba? I mean, don't get me wrong, we really appreciate all the help, but in light of the backlash your campaign could be facing, wouldn't your input be better served with your runners" Judy hesitated to ask while a serious glimmer suddenly lit up in Victor's aged eyes.

"Those people are far better versed in campaign restructuring and the political ins-and-outs than I could ever be, Officer Hopps. I'm a protector of this city and its people first and foremost, and if there's anything I can do that I'm confident will help keep those people safe, I'm going to do it; and right now giving you this clue is the one way I think I can best do that," Victor stated as though it were a lifelong solemn vow to himself. It was almost inspiring, the confidence with which he spoke.

"So maybe it's because I'm looking at the map upside down from you, but I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be seeing here," nick quickly interjected as he was already rubbing two fingers against his lower jaw in aggravation, as he'd typically come to do whenever he had to think extremely hard or observe just as much.

"Doesn't the exact placement of all these fires seem more than a little…predetermined? Organized; specific to just be the work of some sudden arsonist?" Victor pointed out; and all at once both fox and bunny ears shot right up as it all suddenly became crystal clear.

"It almost looks like they're forming a constellation," Judy said in realization.

"It looks like it, yes. But I'm afraid the truth is much more sinister," Victor piped in with great reluctance; instantly catching both their attention.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Nick asked; his voice instinctively taking on a tone of suspicion while Victor fell back into his chair with a weary-sounding sigh.

"Ever since I brought up the possibility of Leonard Pantera being the culprit, I kept trying to convince myself I was wrong; that he hadn't come back and this was simply some copycat who'd gotten wind of that old case and was trying to follow in his paw prints. It's not impossible; people who aren't all there can get inspiration to break the law or try to do other people harm from the most unexpected places. That's what I wanted to believe. But now that this has happened and it's all staring us right in the face, I can't ignore it anymore. It has to be him."

With that being said, Victor suddenly pulled up the right sleeve of his pinstripe suit; revealing what looked like a freeze brand on his forearm in the shape of a ram's head.

"What is that, sir?" Judy asked the instant she saw the freeze brand. In response, Victor reached into his desk and this time pulled out a single photograph before laying it down. What it showed was what looked like Victor with nearly a dozen other mammals in matching blue t-shirts and cargo pants; all holding their forearms up towards the camera, and they were all adorned with the same ram's head freeze brand as though they were all showing it off with the victorious grins on their faces.

"I did some digging around the records hall here after I first got involved in this case, just to be absolutely safe. Remember when I said that back when Bogo and I worked the Pantera case, I'd already formed a special team in the ZFD? Well, this is us, and that was our personal sigil. We were called The Scarlet Rams; because we always charged headfirst into any blaze in order to save everyone we could; and me, Bogo, and the rest of my team all worked together to get Pantera put behind bars.

"Only me and my team knew exactly how we liked to get those brands put on; nobody else did. It was our personal secret," Victor went on to explain; his otherwise powerful and authoritative voice beginning to tremble the more he looked at the photo of his old comrades.

"And…I'm guessing the pattern and locations of these last several fires are exactly like that?" Judy eventually realized; earning only a solemn nod from the large bull.

"The further that case went, the more personal it became for us. We followed Pantera's case exceedingly close, and I know he knew we were. By the time it was all over, it had become just as personal for him. He'd looked into us just as we did to him, and that would've made him the only person outside our team to know a detail like how we got our brand put on. This, what's happening right now…there's no other explanation for it. This is Pantera sending me a message. I should've realized it sooner, that it was only going to be a matter of time if it WAS him that he'd try to reach out to me directly."

"With Reggie Aslani disappeared and the rest of our team dead, I'm the only one he could for certain have his sights set on," Victor finally admitted; leaving a chilling air of foreboding in the now deathly quiet office.

"Forgive the quick change of subject, sir, but I couldn't help but notice. There isn't more than one of each different species on your team; all except for Mr. Aslani. There's another mountain lion with him," Nick suddenly pointed out; not even noticing the look on Judy's face that silently screamed "What does that matter right now' while Victor once again donned that look of pure nostalgia. Just as the fox had said, in the photo, there was a considerably younger-looking mountain lion right next to the same grizzled one they knew to be Reggie Aslani; and he too carried the same freeze brand.

"Yes, that's Reggie's son, David. Unlike the rest of my team's kids, he was old enough to enlist, and to join his father and our team was the one thing he wanted above all else. I guess good fortune was on both their sides. The fact he stuck with Reggie after he retired was the reason they're the only surviving members of the old team now," Victor explained.

"Oh…oh no. If what you're saying is true and Pantera IS now actively gunning for you; you don't think it's possible he might try to lure Mr. Aslani out too by going after his son, do you?" Judy suddenly asked in a near panic as the pieces all seemed to start clicking together in her head.

"I'd thought of that too, but that's not possible. Shortly after Reggie retired and left his old home, David followed not long after. I haven't heard nor seen hide or hair from either of them ever since. There's a very good chance neither of them might be in Zootopia anymore. After that, where they are is anyone's guess at this point. Over the years I've tried to reestablish contact with either of them, but none of their phone numbers or email addresses work anymore."

"In that case, you're the only one he has an easy chance of getting to. Or maybe not," Nick suddenly pointed out, this time even getting victor's attention as the fox suddenly pointed out a semi-familiar looking male antelope near the center of the picture.

"Hey, he looks kind of similar to Sherry," Judy said in realization; her violet eyes growing wide as she looked up at her partner, who only gave her an approving nod to see she knew where he was now going.

"That's right. That's her birth father, Kenneth Antilópi. Sadly, he was one of the ones that passed away in that high rise fire six years back. That's why I took her in and started raising her as my own for him," Victor confirmed; only now catching up with the two ZPD officers as his usual courageous and confident demeanor started to falter.

"Then she's the next best way for Pantera to try and get to you. We should call up the chief and see if we can get a security detail put on you two," Nick finally took charge as he began to reach for the radio at his hip with Judy quick to do the same.

"Now hold on! Believe me, I more than understand why, but just hear me out. I meant it when I said we'd come to understand how Pantera thinks. He's not the kind of mammal to just leave his work unfinished. He's going to keep going until he's gotten the entire brand drawn throughout the city. I think this whole setup is less a threat and simply more a message, or maybe even a challenge," Victor suddenly protested; leaving Judy and Nick speechless that he was actually arguing against protection.

"Sir, you can't honestly expect us to just leave you and your step-daughter alone without any protection. What if your reasoning is wrong? You also said that he'd come to understand you and your team as well. For all we know, you thinking this way could be exactly what he wants so he can get the jump on you," Judy argued almost in complete disbelief while Victor simply brought his hooves together in deep thought.

"That's also true. Frankly, there's still so much about what it is he ultimately has planned that we don't know, and that puts us at a severe disadvantage. However, if we were to just assume that he's going to stay consistent to how he worked ten years ago and follow through with making the brand with each fire, then that actually gives us an advantage. I can pinpoint the spots in the city that would best coordinate where he'd be most likely to strike in order to keep the pattern going. Once we do that, you could call Bogo and see about him setting up some tighter patrols both on the roads and on foot for when Pantera ultimately decides to make his move."

As insane and reliant on sheer chance as it sounded, it wasn't like the two partners could rightly come up with any better solutions. Making sure more eyes were set up to catch Pantera in the act made sense, and if Bullba's understanding of how Pantera thought was really up to snuff, if he were to suddenly notice tighter security around the very mammal he was targeting, it could put him into a panic and push him to do something drastic; something that this time could get innocent bystanders hurt or worse. But in the end, there was no telling if fortifying the spots Victor had already mentally pinpointed wouldn't have the same result. The more they thought about it, the more they had to realize that as much as they didn't want to; playing dumb in the eyes of the culprit was really the only solution they had.

Without any further ado, Victor had proceeded to circle nearly 8 more spots across the city map; most of them spanning across Tundra Town, the northern end of Sahara Square, and one spot right above the center of the City Center.

"Alright, we'll let Chief Bogo know as soon as possible to start setting up tighter police presence in all these areas. In the meantime, Mr. Bullba, I strongly recommend you let us attach a police escort or at the very least a body guard to yourself and your step-daughter, just in case Pantera were to try and come after her while she's away in school," Judy instructed in dead seriousness. Just the thought of even one more of these incidents happening and further provoking the people had the little bunny more on edge than she could've been able to recall feeling in a very long time.

"Oh, I assure you, Officer Hopps, Sherry rarely leaves my sight as it is. Until I know for certain that Pantera is back behind bars where he belongs, I'm going to keep her at my side like glue; especially since she's already graduated," Victor assured them both as he rolled the map back up and slipped it and the photo back into his desk before he started making his way for the door.

"Out of curiosity, what do you plan to do next? I realize even with all this information, it doesn't give you much of a lead to follow as much as a few places to keep an eye on," Victor suddenly asked once he was halfway out the door.

"Carrots has an address in Tundra Town we think might be one of the places the culprit is holing up in. We were actually on our way to check it out when you buzzed," Nick answered casually as the three began heading back down the hall.

"You know, for how much you insisted on me doubling my own security, don't you think you two should have some backup? It's clear he's gotten a lot more creative since I last encountered him, and it's possible he might have something set up and waiting for you when you get there. I mean it only makes sense you should have some help," Victor suggested; and while the thought had occurred to Judy and Nick, there was still that lingering worry that they were constantly being watched or listened in on, and doing so might once again set Pantera off.

But then again, worrying about the what-ifs didn't make the reality any less dangerous, so it was unfortunately a risk they were going to have to take.

"We've dealt with much worse odds with just the two of us, Mr. Bullba; but you do have a point. We'll ask for some backup; and in the meantime, you make sure you have your security with you until we have Pantera again," Judy assured the bull as they stepped out into the lobby.

"I will, Officer Hopps. I'll let you get back to your regular duty now. I have a new press conference to get set up myself. The people deserve to finally know the name and face of the mammal responsible for all this madness. Hopefully it'll help bring an end to all this paranoia and hostility, and perhaps even help you and the rest of the ZPD get some extra watchful eyes on the streets," Victor said with a return of that enthusiasm in his posture and tone while the two ZPD officers were already making their way for the underground lot again.

Nightfall had already set into place once their police cruiser was back out on the streets and merging onto the freeway that would get them to Tundra Town the fastest. So much new information and unpleasant possibilities having been shoveled onto their laps left Nick and Judy with so much to consult each other on but no idea on just how to say so. They had been struggling for what felt like so long since this case started to try and maintain their positive attitudes with each other, but bit by bit the overwhelming reality of just what they'd gotten themselves involved in became more apparent and more impossible to ignore.

Once Judy had finished radioing HQ to send backup to meet them at 1110 Archipelago Way, their cruiser was filled with that same detestable silence as they both were silently desperately trying to think of anything to break the silence; no matter if it was professional or personal. They'd been going nonstop since the fires this morning, so this could very likely have been their only chance for some alone time for the next several days.

As the little grey bunny struggled for anything to say; a momentary glance to her partner showed a much deeper look in his green eyes than she'd been used to seeing. It wasn't the thinly veiled sense of worry that had become so unfortunately commonplace over this last week either. It was something deeper, something…almost meditative or even contemplative.

"Okay, Nick; if I see you looking like that, you know I'm gonna ask. What're you thinking about?" Judy finally asked; breaking the fox from his concentration as he momentarily looked like he'd been hearing voices before remembering where he was.

"Geez, Carrots, just slap me on the back next time you want my attention. Anyway, I'm just…I'm just thinking about a lot of different things," Nick tried to brush it off with a wry chuckle before resting his chin in his paw and looking out at the dazzling lights of Tundra Town under the night sky as they exited the tunnel.

"Can't say I blame you. It's like every day we get so much more info to work with, it's almost overwhelming," Judy said in agreement while Nick just gave her a faint shake of the head.

"No, it's not just the case. Just hearing Bullba talk about his old buddies like that before, the fact that they're almost all…well, dead. It just got me thinking about some stuff," Nick admitted; causing one of Judy's ears to perk up as she shot a concerned glance to her partner.

"Maybe feel like sharing anytime soon?" she asked in irresistible curiosity while Nick just rolled his eyes at her persistence.

"Well, have you ever read testimonials from people online, like the wives of cops, firefighters, soldiers and so on, and they always say how the most terrifying thing is how every single morning could literally be the last time they see them? Bullba's story just reminded me of that," Nick finally confessed just as their cruiser began to take the off-ramp.

"Well, I know what you're talking about, but that seems like a really…unnatural thing for you to look into, Nick. What brought that on? If you don't mind me asking of course," she asked; this time unable to hide the trace of concern in her tone.

"A week ago during one of our desk job days at lunch, I overheard Rhinovich talking with some of the others. He was going on about how his wife didn't want him to come in that day because she was scared she wouldn't see him again. It was just in passing, but for some reason it really stuck with me. For the last couple days, I've been unable to stop thinking about…well, living without any regrets."

At this point, Judy suddenly pulled the car over on the side of the road; prompting her partner to look at her in confusion while she looked at him with utter seriousness and deep emotion in her eyes.

"Nick, I've tried to be quiet about this, but I can't just sit here and listen to you go into something so serious and not say anything. You've been so…unsettlingly serious so much of the time since we took this case. Please, tell me why. Why have you been obsessing over this?" she asked almost pleadingly while Nick struggled to look anywhere but in her eyes while trying to find the answer.

"Well, sometimes I just look at where we are. Not in the literal sense, I mean like where we are in life. We're partners in the ZPD, we're a couple off the job, and I don't regret one second of any of that. I pretty much have had no regrets since you blackmailed me into your life. But when it gets quiet and I'm just left with my thoughts for company, I start wondering if there is anything left for me to do that I'd regret NOT doing before it's too late. You know me, Carrots, I prefer not to be a pessimist MOST of the time, but listening to that conversation made me realize it's one of the risks our job has, that we could unknowingly step into something and it would be over before we even knew it. Granted, we're a lucky case, we're together pretty much all the time now. But what about in our times alone together? We pretty much live every moment of those times like it's our last, and when we're on duty and having to show so much restraint all the time…I don't know. It sometimes makes me feel like our professional life is…well, interfering with the rest."

"Nick, I don't know how else to ask you this. Please, try to stop being so cryptic and just give me the nitty gritty of what's going on in your head. You know I'm tough. You know I can take it," Judy stated bluntly; leaning in closer to Nick's face with each word, yet displaying no anger. Rather it was a kind of…desperation to get to the solution.

"The secrets we have to keep from everyone else in the privacy of home…well, do you ever find yourself…regretting what we are when nobody else is looking?" The silence in the cruiser after Nick asked by far the hardest question he'd ever willed himself to was so thick, you could almost literally cut it with a knife. The look in Judy's wide eyes couldn't even be read. It was like she was in utter shellshock at what she'd just heard him suggest.

"I…I swear if I didn't love you as much as I do, I'd want to claw your face for asking me that, you dumb, dumb fox! How could you even THINK I'd ever regret being with you? Have I EVER given you that impression, just because I want to keep our relationship a secret? Do you think this is some kind of elaborate way for me to string you along? I'd demand you explain yourself, but I feel like I wouldn't get any real answers," Judy said in a forced whisper that nearly gave Nick chills. It was like she was doing everything in her power to hold back both incensed anger and immense sadness.

"I know; I'm stupid for even doubting you for that. You wear your heart on your sleeve so much; you couldn't ever be able to fake what you feel for others. Like I said, my head's been swimming in nothing but what-ifs for the last week and this is seven days' worth of stress and frustration bubbling out. I just…I just want to make sure that there's nothing either of us regrets doing or that we don't WANT to regret not doing just in case. I mean, you can't tell me you don't silently worry what's going to happen to us every day, right?" the fox tried to reason with her as she finally let go of his collar and took a deep breath; her expression and eyes becoming much softer.

"Well of course I do, nobody can avoid thinking about that ALL the time, but I just try not to let it get to me. Spending all our days worrying about what-ifs and being afraid of what's going to happen every day we walk out that door…t-that's no way for anyone to live. I don't let it worry me because I know you're always going to be with me; watching my back, just like I'm always going to be doing for you. I feel safer than ever whenever I'm with you, don't you know that by now? So yes, I may sometimes worry about what could happen, but I know that we can do something about it whenever we have to."

"I wish I was as optimistic, Carrots. You're right, I do know you're tough and definitely cleverer than me when you have to be, so I know you can definitely handle yourself. But even then, it never stops me from worrying about what could happen if we got separated; if something were to happen to you and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I keep thinking about what they told us back at the academy, about how there's almost always going to be a moment in every officer's career where something will happen and we can't do anything about it. I just…all this stuff floating around about dead partners and what-ifs…it just scares me, Carrots. It makes me scared for YOU. I wouldn't ever be able to forgive myself if something happened to you. I wouldn't even know what to do with myself if I lost you, you dumb bunny."

Nick was practically gasping for air as he finally let all this unbearable emotional weight out in front of Judy; who looked at him in complete astonishment now that she finally knew the lengths at which her dear partner and beloved fox was silently tormenting himself. The fox had already returned to staring out the window, this time just so he could avoid looking her in the eyes. Her nose instinctively twitched as she struggled to think of just what she could say to brighten her partners spirits after he'd explained something so serious, so depressing…and yet so understandable.

She understood everything Nick said, and she didn't blame him for any of it. If she were the type to let things get to her more frequently, she probably would've ended up obsessing over these depressing hypotheticals too. She couldn't imagine there could be anything more emotionally painful than to end up regretting something they knew should've been done. And then there was the last dreadful note he'd left it on. How could either of them continue on if something were to have happened to the other? Yes, she was self-reliant when she needed to be, she was smart, she was tough for her small size, and she was courageous above all else. But she had Nick to support her in every way. They were the perfect pair; the textbook definition of fated partners, probably the most surprisingly compatible two mammals on this planet. And she too couldn't imagine the sheer agony she would feel if something were to happen to that dumb, wonderful fox sitting next to her right now. She couldn't imagine the pain of knowing she'd never get to see, hold or speak to him ever again. And to know that she would never be able to fix it…it also made her realize that in the end, she probably wouldn't be able to forgive herself either.

This was so much hard reality to take in all at once. How could she possibly know what to say to try and help Nick come back even a little bit? The truth was she didn't. All she could think to do now was to at least try and help Nick be at the top of his game again.

Without any words, the little bunny suddenly grabbed onto her partner's neck tie; slowly pulling so that he'd have no choice but to look at her again; his expression tired and almost weary, as if he'd completely emotionally exhausted himself having to put his latest pained emotions and thoughts into words. But just as she'd hoped, a stirring of that same warmth and ever-present zest for life started to make itself known in his green eyes once she gently brought one of her paws to softly hold the side of his face; finally driving him to look her in the eye again.

Judy proceeded to undo her seatbelt and slowly climb up into Nick's lap before bringing her other paw to the other side of his face; now leaving the fox with no way to avoid her violet gaze.

"Nick, I want you to listen, and I want you to believe me. I have no intention of letting ANYTHING happen to either of us, okay? I'm willing to do whatever I can to make it so. I still plan to be a police officer for a very long time, but only if you're there with me every step of the way, just like you always have been. But I can't force you to believe that like I do. You have to be able to believe it on your own. So please, look me in the eyes and tell me the truth. Do you really believe I'm just going to stand back, do nothing, and let something like a dumb what-if get in between us?"

She typically had such a freaky natural way with words as far as he was concerned, but here he could see she was even now struggling to find the right way to get her point across. But nevertheless, get the point across, she did. Even when mentally struggling with herself, she still had the good intentions at heart to communicate silently what she couldn't verbally. Her already vibrant violet eyes by now had become like an ocean for Nick to find himself lost in as her loving voice and heartfelt words swam about in his head; as if rooting itself into his very being. He did want to believe her. She never said anything she didn't mean from the bottom of her heart; she couldn't do that if she tried. He DID believe her. No matter what would come knocking, that dumb, persistent, amazing bunny would fight tooth and claw to protect the perfect life they had, and if the setting called for it, he'd more than gladly do the same.

Nick finally willed himself to bring his paws up and place them over Judy's as she still held onto his face; the life returning as his natural grin slowly found its way back onto his muzzle.

"No, I don't believe that, Carrots. I never would. You're the cottontail that can't resist poking her little nose where it shouldn't, remember?" the fox finally said; his attempt at yet another terrible joke telling Judy everything she wanted to hear as her beaming smile quickly came back, and she immediately reacted by leaning in and planting a lingering, adoring kiss on her partner's muzzle, to the point even he found it to be going a couple seconds too long by the time she finally pulled away.

"Wow. Getting quite bold there, aren't you, Carrots?" he immediately said with that same infuriating smirk while Judy giggled to herself before getting back into the driver's seat.

"Yeah, well your little stunt of asking if I regret our relationship because I try to be so professional didn't really leave me much choice, needy fox," she immediately fired back with an amused smirk of her own as she finally turned the engine back on and proceeded to continue down the road. From that point forward, the tension and air of concern between these two star-crossed partners had completely vanished.

It wasn't long afterwards that they finally arrived at 1110 Archipelago Way. Thankfully, the backup had already arrived, and they'd at least been smart enough not to have their lights flashing. If the worst case scenario were waiting for them and their mystery arsonist was actually here, the last thing they'd want is for him to actually know they were here.

Within minutes, Judy, Nick, and a handful of their fellow ZPD officers had silently filed into the small apartment block; nearly silent as they slowly crept down the hall on the eleventh floor that led to the door marked 1110. With silent but swift precision, the officers all stacked onto the door; all those with fur practically bristling as they just awaited the signal to break the door down and finally get down to business.

After several tense, lingering seconds, Judy finally closed her paw into a fist once she saw all the officers had their Tasers at the ready, and with a sudden flip switch-like swiftness, two rhino officers quickly rammed the door right off its hinges, and the rest were all filing into the apartment one after another; rushing from one corner to the next like a well-oiled machine, while still managing to keep their eyes peeled for anything that even remotely looked like it could've been a trap.

It wasn't even thirty seconds until the word had been given, and everyone reconvened back in the living room, all their expressions indicating what Judy and Nick had silently been dreading: there was no one here. There wasn't even anything slightly out of the ordinary to be found. In fact, the entire apartment had been completely cleaned out. It looked as if nobody had lived here in years; no furniture, no nothing.

While the rest of the officers slowly filed back out into the hall to keep any potential neighbors from nosing in and to report their findings to HQ, Judy and nick were left by themselves in the apartment, just as at a loss for where to go from here as they'd feared.

"I know you were really banking on this place, Carrots. But, at least Bullba gave us all those addresses the guy's likely to hit. We can still join the patrols and keep an eye open for him. So at least there's that," Nick tried to cheer up the little bunny as he could tell just how frustrated she was by how she was trying to keep her foot from rapidly beating on the floor like she tended to do.

"I know, Nick. I just…I just had this feeling in my gut that there would be at least SOMETHING here," she said after letting out an aggravated sigh before Nick placed a reassuring arm over her shoulders.

"Well, even the best cops' intuition has to get it wrong at least once at some point. I'm sure something else will come up sooner or later," the fox said confidently, which thankfully brought another grateful smile to her face as she briefly nuzzled her face into his side before they quickly separated lest someone would come looking in the doorway at that moment.

"Ugh, I can't believe this has all just been ONE day. I always dreaded when we'd get a workload like this, but I just didn't think it'd happen THIS soon in our career," Nick then stated with an exhausted yawn while he stretched his arms and let out an immensely satisfied sigh after feeling a pop in his back. They'd pretty much been run ragged today right from the start, and from the looks of it, it wasn't going to end anytime soon. The fox leaned his head back to relieve the similar stiffness in his neck; momentarily opening his eyes, only for them to shoot wide open when he saw the ceiling.

"Uh, Carrots? Never mind what I just said about your intuition getting it wrong," was all the fox said as Judy looked at her partner in confusion to see he was still staring up at the ceiling. Following his gaze, her violet eyes too shot wide open when she was met with a message spray-painted on the ceiling in black.

WXH-8. FOLLOW THE MONEY.

 **Alright, at long last, Chapter 5 is done, done, done. I swear, every time I keep thinking I have these chapters figured out, it's thinking of how best to write the more personal moments between Nick and Judy that make it that much harder and therefore time-consuming. It's like I know WHAT I'm trying to communicate, but it's figuring out how to portray it in realistic-sounding and believable, in-character conversation that's the real challenge.**

 **But anyway, I powered through it, and hopefully it'll meet all your expectations.**

 **Oh, and in terms of any incidental music I'd recommend that I feel adds to the feeling of any given scene, I'd say from the moment Judy undoes her seatbelt to try and comfort Nick to the end of the chapter, I'd recommend 'The Walker' by Gayngs. I don't know why, but the music itself felt very…fitting, for lack of a better word.**

 **Anyway, you've all waited long enough, so here you all go. I'd love to still hear all your thoughts, so I can at least know what I'm doing right, or where you feel I need to improve.**


	6. Breadcrumbs

**Hello again, everyone. I won't bore you all with my regular pre-chapter rambling, especially now that we've really gotten the ball rolling. The arsonist has now officially roped our favorite bunny/fox duo into their own little game. Just what awaits them now that they have no choice but to do as they're told? Read on and find out.**

 **Zootopia and its characters do not belong to me, but to Disney.**

What would normally have taken an hour to get from the southern end of Tundra Town back to ZPD HQ in the City Center had now taken less than twenty minutes as Judy had gone full pedal-to-the-metal the instant she'd gotten photo evidence. She practically had to carry poor Nick by his necktie; she'd raced for the cruiser so fast; not even paying attention to the confused looks on all her fellow officers' faces.

She didn't dare take one moment to stop and contemplate just what this unexpected clue meant for them. She knew that if she did, all kinds of unpleasant possibilities would take root, and she'd be completely lost.

' _WXH-8. Follow the money.'_ That was what had been meticulously spray-painted on the ceiling of 1110 Archipelago Way. It was way too cryptic to just be some stupid self-glorifying graffiti like what was so commonplace in the lower income neighborhoods. It meant something, and she was more determined than ever to find out what. Their elusive mystery arsonist was expecting them, and now it was safe to say they were right where he wanted them, but Judy Hopps wasn't going to let that get in the way of fulfilling her duty.

One way or another, she was going to find some answers and finally catch this firebug and put him behind bars once and for all.

She didn't even bother with the underground lot at HQ this time, instead going for full-on peeling into the parking lot above ground. By this point at night, it looked like that once massive throng of reporters gathered out front had thankfully dispersed.

Once Judy had finally shut off the cruiser and was already halfway out the door, she momentarily glanced back to see Nick still stuck to his seat; green eyes wide and his chest heaving as he was desperately trying to breathe again, while also clutching the seats for dear life.

"C'mon, partner, time's wasting! Let's go," she practically ordered as she grabbed him by his necktie and nearly flung him right out with her as she continued sprinting for the door.

"Carrots, remind me to never, EVER get in a car with you or any other bunny behind the wheel ever again," Nick managed to say in his still petrified daze as they reached the steps.

"Oh, relax, scaredy-fox, you're not dead yet. Now look alive," she shot back with no sign of regret, but rather an air of enthusiasm as they nearly burst through the front doors; inadvertently drawing the attention of Clawhauser and every other officer nearby.

"Clawhauser, tell Chief Bogo we need to see him ASAP," Judy asked the overweight cheetah in passing; not even waiting for him to answer as she bypassed the elevator and instead began dashing up the stairs with her hapless, slowly-recovering fox still in tow.

"Okay, slow down for a second there, dumb bunny! Don't you think you're jumping the gun at least a LITTLE bit here?" Nick finally protested and managing to get his partner to stop as he took the moment to straighten his necktie again.

"Well if now isn't the time to jump on this lead, then when will it ever be, Nick? Aren't you sick and tired of having every potential lead end up in a dead end? Cause I sure am," Judy argued; not even paying mind of any passing officers who might've been watching now that she was unconsciously raising her voice at her partner.

"I am too, Carrots; but you gotta collect yourself before you go kicking the chief's door down. I'm just saying that…well, doesn't the whole setup of this clue raise any red flags for you? I mean, isn't it obvious that the mammal we're trying to ARREST left that there for us? Why would he want to actually leave us a clue that would actually help us towards catching him? Did it seriously not occur to you that this might be a trap?" Nick tried to reason with her; trying his best to maintain his own composure while Judy visibly started to show signs of deep thought in response, almost looking embarrassed for acting so fired up.

"Of course it occurred to me, Nick. It's been swimming around in my head nonstop since we saw it. But I…I just don't want to risk losing the chance for us to potentially get somewhere with this case by just throwing whatever clue's been given to us aside. I at least want to be thorough," she proceeded to explain herself; her ears folding down while Nick just gave an exhausted sigh that he'd unintentionally put his partner on the spot.

"I get that, Carrots, really. But is being thorough really worth…I'd rather not jinx us by saying it, but you know what I'm getting at. Is the risk REALLY worth that?" Nick hesitated to ask.

"If the alternative is ignoring something that could potentially lead to us nabbing this guy before he gets a bunch of people hurt or worse? Yes, Nick. I think it is worth it," Judy reluctantly answered; feeling her heart twist at the conflicted look on her fox's face. She knew he meant well, he always did. He had every right to worry for her, since she knew she'd no doubt be the same if he were acting like she was. But her sworn lifelong duty always came to the forefront of her mind when all was said and done.

With nothing more left to be said, she turned back around to head the rest of the way for Chief Bogo's door with Nick loyally sticking to her side.

Once they'd been ordered to step inside a split second before knocking; the two felt themselves shrink under the to-be-expected serious glare their chief was sending them from his desk.

"Hopps, Wilde; I hope you two have a VERY good reason for barging in and demanding to see me out of the blue like this. I only barely managed to finally get the press off our backs, thanks in no small part to Mr. Bullba's assistance; so I hope you have some real good news for once," Bogo wasted no time informing them; no sign of patience anywhere to be found in his utterly exhausted-sounding tone as Judy and Nick alike obediently squeezed onto the one chair set before his desk.

"Actually sir, we were hoping you could be able to help us out with this one," Judy hesitated to say as she pulled out her phone and pulled up the photo of the cryptic graffiti before sliding it across his desk to him. It was almost like a complete transformation as the naturally intimidating expression of no amusement on the water buffalo's face slowly gave way to what the two small mammals could only describe as shellshock.

"Where did you find this?" were the first words to leave the chief's mouth, almost silent yet almost chilling in their seriousness as well.

"It was spray painted on the ceiling at 1110 Archipelago Way, sir. It looked way too fresh to have just been left there by some random vandal. I think the culprit deliberately left that there for us to find and figure out what it means," Judy instantly answered; clearly all her red flags having been raised by actually seeing Bogo look so caught-off-guard.

"And what gives you that impression, Hopps? What makes you so sure that this isn't just some random nonsense left by some punk with an aerosol can and that it might actually mean anything?" the chief finally managed to regain his usual composure as he slid her phone back to her.

"Because you already proved it does, sir," Nick suddenly answered as Judy opened her mouth; his typical smirk and laid back demeanor replaced with that always-rare serious side he tended to keep hidden while he and the chief silently stared each other down.

"Me, Carrots, and pretty much everyone else here knows you're about as emotive and willing to let your defense down as a steel-reinforced brick wall. Yet you looked like a deer caught in headlights as soon as you saw that photo. It does mean something, and more importantly you KNOW exactly what it is. So how about you just throw us a bone here and help us figure this thing out, huh, boss?" Nick further reasoned before finally letting a bit more of his casual side come back as he tried to appeal to the conflicted-looking buffalo, who all at once looked like he wanted to wring the fox's neck for the accusation, yet at the same time like he wanted to do just what Nick was asking as well.

Finally, the ZPD chief let out a defeated sigh of sheer granite as he pinched his snout between his hooves in exhaustion. Then, he rose up from his desk; overcasting them both in his hulking shadow before he began heading for the door.

"Both of you come with me. NOW," he ordered, and like a shot they were both at his sides as he began marching down the hall to the nearest stairwell; heading further and further down until they could both tell they had to be underground at this point.

It was almost immediately afterward that they began to notice a sweltering heat rising up from below, just as they finally reached the bottom of the stairwell and a single door. With an almost ear-piercing shriek of rusted metal, Bogo opened the door to reveal an extensive library-looking room that was almost pitch black save for the flickering lighting; the only sound to be heard from inside being a deep, almost foreboding mechanical chugging. It didn't take much for Judy and nick to realize this had to be the oft-mentioned records hall. Without another word, Bogo motioned them to keep following as he made his way further in past numerous twists and turns through the seemingly countless aisles.

"Uh, chief, maybe mind filling us in why we're here? I don't know about you or Carrots, but this place gives me the creeps," Nick hesitated to mention. It seemed almost unnaturally contradictive that a place as dark and unwelcoming as this was just under a place that always looked as pristine as the ZPD headquarters. And the fact that there was nobody here to greet them like a record keeper didn't help; although he did recall overhearing Clawhauser mention how he once spent a week working down here and how happy he was to finally get back out.

"You asked me to give you answers, Wilde; and that's what I'm doing, so keep your complaints to yourself. Besides, we're here," Chief Bogo wasted no time reprimanding the fox as he finally came to a stop before one of the many drawers labeled 'W'. Rifling through the nearly one-hundred identical manila folders, he soon pulled a single one out with the black label of 'WXH-8' stenciled across it.

"Sir…a case file? What does this all mean?" Judy couldn't help but ask; nearly overwhelmed by the surge of confusion over just WHAT they were being expected to find. It was only natural to assume things like this were confidential, so how could a criminal, let alone someone who's never been in the ZPD, know such a specific one?

"Even despite all the clues pointing towards him being the one, there was a part of me that didn't want to believe it was Pantera causing all this chaos. I wanted to keep thinking he was still somewhere out in the world living below the radar. But…if he left THAT message for you, then there is no other possibility," Bogo reluctantly began to explain as he began backtracking to the stairwell and back up to the much less oppressive atmosphere of the station itself.

"This is the case file for the original Pantera case ten years ago. Everything you could possibly need to know about it is in here. Normally I wouldn't even consider doing this, but if you two feel so confident that you'll find whatever it is you need to put him back behind bars in here…then here," the chief finally cut to the chase as he very hesitantly handed the file to his two officers.

"Sir, are you sure?" Judy instinctively asked upon seeing the great hesitance on the stern chief's face. She almost would've thought he was…AFRAID of something big being discovered by allowing them to look this over.

"If giving you two permission to peruse over that old case might somehow help us get Pantera and keep this powder keg of a city from blowing up, then yes I am. Let's just hope your intuition is right, Hopps, Wilde. Otherwise I don't know how much longer we'll be able to keep the people calm if he makes another move. I don't think even Victor Bullba would be able to sway them then," Bogo said; faintly groaning at the very thought of just what could happen if this did lead nowhere.

Not needing any further convincing, Judy tucked the file under her arm, departed with a respectful yet grateful salute, and immediately took Nick's paw and began making a beeline for their mutual desks.

"Okay, I'll be the first to admit when your intuition actually gets us somewhere, Fluff, but don't you think we should slow down and think about how we tackle this?" Nick tried to advise his partner as she practically hopped into her chair and was already starting to spread all the file's documents across their shared desks.

"What's there to even think about, Nick? We've got all the info we could possibly need. Surely if the culprit knew about this file existing, they must have some kind of an idea of what they want us to find; and I don't know about you, but I intend to find out what," she brushed his concerns aside before grabbing the nearest paper she could find and began perusing it, this time around looking over the profiles of Victor Bullba and his Crimson Rams.

"And we will, but if you just rush into this all half-cocked like you are, you're bound to miss something," Nick attempted to reason with her.

"So then what do you suggest?" she asked without even glancing at him; still too focused on trying to memorize every detail she read.

"Well, earlier, didn't Mr. Bullba pretty much say there's another records wing at City Hall that holds info the ZPD doesn't, like anything that doesn't directly involve us?" he then asked; finally getting his partner to stop reading and just look at him in confusion.

"Well, yeah, they have to keep records of everything important related to the city, like birth certificates, development plans, land deeds and pretty much everything else; but what does that have to do with what we're doing?" she had no choice but to ask as well; not liking the fact she for once couldn't follow her partner's line of thinking.

"Well, following your intuition already got us this far, but now I've just got this feeling in my gut too that maybe there's something more that we don't have here that maybe they do. So I thought maybe we could swing by and see about borrowing their copy on this case just to make sure we're not missing anything," he proceeded to explain himself; feeling a tide of relief washing over him as Judy's expression slowly but surely went from confusion to understanding and then immediately back to that child-like excitement.

"Well why didn't you just say so? Come on, let's go," she immediately beckoned as she hopped right back out of her seat and began to rush past; only for Nick to suddenly stop her in her tracks with a firm paw to her chest.

"Why don't you sit this one out, Carrots? I'll go," he offered; but the look of sheer confusion on his bunny's face didn't waver.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm going with you," she stated as if the fox didn't know what he was saying, but like before, his paw came and stopped her where she stood.

"No, really, you shouldn't feel obliged to let yourself get dragged along with me like I do with you, Carrots. You know City Hall's not that far, I'd be back before you even knew it," Nick once more tried to reason with her; her expression of confusion by now starting to turn into full-blown irritation.

"Then what's the big deal with me going with you? You know I can multi-task, I could just keep reading up on what we have on the way there. Why are you being so difficult about this?" she demanded to know while Nick by this point was looking around nervously to make sure none of the other officers were eavesdropping or peeking in from curiosity.

"Okay, Carrots. You really wanna come with me? Try and flip me over," he stated bluntly. By now, Judy was looking at her partner like he really DID lose his mind.

"W-What?" the word naturally, almost instinctively, came out as she had no idea just what he was thinking anymore.

"You say I'm being difficult? Okay, I'll show you me being difficult. If you wanna come with so bad, try and flip me over, cause that's what it's gonna take," he further elaborated; his stance just as rigid and firm as his resolve.

"Don't be ridiculous, Nick; I'm NOT flipping you over. Now stop acting like a little kit and let's go," she said impatiently as she began to step around; only Nick's paw was much more firm as he once more blocked her progress.

"I made my terms, Carrots, and that's that. I know you can do it easy. So just do that and then we can go," he proclaimed in full seriousness as his partner just looked at him like she didn't even recognize him anymore.

"You're insane, you know that? Where did this suddenly come from? You were nothing like this just a minute ago," she couldn't help but ask while Nick just let out an exasperated sigh that even when the instructions were so clear, she still hesitated.

"You want an answer to that too? Then you know what to do. I'm right here, so just do it," he stated; holding both his arms and legs out wide as if making himself a wide open target.

"Ugh, fine. But don't you dare complain if you're feeling aches tomorrow," she finally relented before letting her muscle memory from all her hand-to-hand training come into play and quickly sidestep to lock her paws around Nick's right arm.

Only before she'd even realized it, he'd done the exact same thing; wrapping his paws around both of hers, and she soon felt her feet come off the ground and she was sent flipping through the air before Nick suddenly caught her around her waist; breaking her fall.

"Wait, how did you just do that?" was the first question she thought to ask as Nick just sighed and helped her get steady onto her feet again.

"Nothing special, you know that. It's basic counter-measures from the academy," he explained in boredom while Judy started running her paws over the wrinkles in her uniform from their impromptu scuffle.

"Okay, so what exactly was the point of all this again?" she finally asked the question that'd been foremost in her head while Nick took up his rigid stance and crossed his arms; trying his best to look firm and authoritative.

"We've sparred in the gym enough times up to this point to know that you could flip me easy before I'd even have a chance to blink, Carrots. Yet just now I was able to actually outdo YOU for once; and you're freakishly fast on your feet even for a bunny. Why do you think that is?" he proceeded to ask, and while she could tell from his tone that it was rhetorical, she couldn't help but take a guess anyway.

"Because you're actually learning and getting bett-?" the words came out before the fox interrupted with a loud buzzer sound to tell her she was dead wrong.

"It's because we've been going non-stop since early this morning, and it's nearly midnight now. You've been letting yourself get stressed all throughout the day and pushing yourself with no time to take a breath, and it's finally catching up to you, Carrots. You're running yourself ragged. That's why I'm just asking you to take a moment, sit this one out, at least give yourself a chance to catch your breath and relax for a minute," he explained with much more understanding and compassion than he'd been showing the last minute, as if now that he'd finally addressed his major concern, he could let himself be…well, himself with her again; especially since it seemed his words really were resonating with her as her look of impatience quickly softened as her ears fell.

She couldn't rightly deny the truth to what he was saying. She'd been trying so hard to hide it all day, but now that Nick had forced her to acknowledge it, it seemed to hit her with full force. Yes, she always gave her work her all every single day, but for some reason, today had been so much more demanding than what she was used to, yet she kept trying to soldier on through it. She almost felt…genuinely disappointed in herself for having to admit any kind of defeat like this.

"Okay…okay, you win, Nick. You're right. I am exhausted. But I still don't know how I feel about you heading out on the street alone. You said yourself you almost got caught in the middle of a scuffle with those two mammals at the jewelry store this morning. How do I know something worse won't happen while you're out there without me to back you up?" she tried to explain herself while Nick knelt down to be level with her while laying supporting paws on her tiny shoulders.

"The mother bunny sentiment's appreciated, Carrots, but I don't think I need it this time. I'll be back before you even realize I'm gone. Besides, you've been complaining so much lately about what a huge workload this case has been; what kind of partner would I be if I just sat back and not take any of the workload on my own shoulders?" he said reassuringly while she automatically brought an appreciative paw of her own over one of his.

"You'd be MY partner," she answered; not even trying to sound snarky, yet still getting a greatly amused laugh out of the fox all the same.

"Very funny, Fluff, but you know what I meant. Seriously, I'll be fine, and I can just radio for you if anything goes south. You just sit that cute little cottontail of yours down and I'll be back in two shakes of it," Nick said between his chuckles before finally rubbing Judy's head and beginning to make his way out of the office space and for the lobby.

"Hey, I thought we agreed you didn't get to use the c-word while we're on the clock, cheeky fox. But can I just say one last thing before you go?" she called out to him; stopping Nick in his tracks just as he was about to step out through the door and quickly looked back over his shoulder in curiosity.

Thank goodness nobody else was in the room to see this.

Judy nearly bounded after Nick and swiftly grabbed his necktie and pulled him down; meeting him with another quick but always-as emotionally charged kiss he gladly returned before they quickly parted.

"Thanks for thinking so much of me that you'd do this, Nick, really. It's super sweet of you," she said gratefully while Nick quickly shook his head to regain his calm lest someone be just outside and ask why he had his common love-struck face on.

"Would it be too much that I ask you keep that in mind next time it's my turn to do the laundry?" he asked sarcastically while Judy giggled to herself on the way back to her desk.

"Nice try, clever fox. Now go on, get out of here. You were so gung ho about it a minute ago," she shot back with just as much wit while Nick smiled brightly to himself as he stepped out; leaving Judy to her thoughts as she sat herself back down and grabbed the first paper she could, all the while smiling just as warmly.

Nick's sense of humor at the best of times left a lot to be desired in the eyes of the average mammal, and he had the annoying habit of being overly sarcastic more often than not, and his razor sharp wit and desire to treat everything like a joke and be lazy most of the time had a tendency to get on her nerves more than she liked to admit. But God bless him, when he wanted to really extend a helping paw and at least express his sentimentality, he was nothing short of wonderful.

She realized then that it probably was for the best that he did at least this one task on his own. He was like a kit just wanting to prove how much he'd grown by wanting to show his independence, and all because deep down he was always worried for her. Part of her couldn't help but wonder if maybe that habit had planted itself into him ever since her injury at the natural history museum. Would've made sense in his own Nick Wilde-ish way.

 **At City Hall…**

' _Wow, for such a huge mob earlier, I half-expected they'd still be here,'_ was the first thought that crossed Nick's mind once he finally arrived in front of City Hall. It must've really been a testament to Victor Bullba and the mayor's abilities to talk to the people; especially for how close to the edge they all were.

And upon stepping inside, the fox couldn't help but be surprised that for all the chaos that'd resulted just this morning, the inside of City Hall was almost unnaturally serene and quiet. He'd honestly been half expecting a complete madhouse of politicians, executives and secretaries scrambling around in a blind panic, like the average scurry at Little Rodentia. But hey, who was he to complain over peace and quiet? It'd just make his job all the easier.

Once the mammal sitting at the lobby desk had directed him towards the records wing, Nick proceeded on his way with a casual swagger in his step, almost as though he were no longer in his uniform and back in his good-old street prowling days. Honestly, he'd figured he could afford to let good ol' Carrots have a couple extra minutes to herself. Besides, it gave him a chance to collect on his own thoughts as well.

Before he'd even realized it, he was standing before the door marked 'Records'; and with a heavy groaning of wood as he pushed his way inside, he almost couldn't believe how much bigger this place was than the hall beneath the ZPD, and that alone seemed like a labyrinth to him. Of course, any reasonable mammal would've realized this place had to hold onto records of everything, not just whatever was related to the police, but the sheer scale of it all made him forget that. Now he was already starting to regret not asking any of the other officers to come with him. By himself, this place could take well over ten years to cover.

At least until he noticed the nifty little computer sitting right next to the door that looked to have a map and a search index for the entire hall. Thank goodness for technology and its little miracles.

Deciding to play it safe, he quickly looked up 'WXH-8', and upon finding the section of the hall it was in, he quickly went on his merry way. Surely the place was so massive, nobody would notice an entire case ZPD case file and all its related sources missing…at least for quite a while until he'd slip it right back in its place.

The overbearing silence of the record hall was almost intimidating the further into the masses of bookshelves Nick went. It was almost to the point that the overhead lights almost began to be overshadows by the looming archives; giving the illusion they'd almost collapse on top of him if he didn't move fast enough. Just another of the burdens of being on the smaller side of the animal spectrum; or at least that's what he kept trying to convince himself of as he continued down the numerous twists and turns.

' _Geez, it's so…unnaturally quiet here. Maybe I SHOULD'VE brought Carrots with, at least give me someone to talk to,'_ he began to express in doubt before just as quickly shaking his head to clear his mind. After all the trouble he'd had to go through to get that stubborn little cottontail to cool her jets and take a moment for her own sake, he wasn't about to go back on it. It was bad enough he'd had to get physical to prove his point especially, and he wasn't about to let that new unpleasant little memory be in complete vain.

"Ah, what're you doubting yourself for, Wilde? She wouldn't have listened to reason, you only did what you had to do, it's not like you legitimately hurt her. But maybe if she wasn't so darn stubborn all the time, maybe it wouldn't have been so hard," he began talking to himself as he began counting down the letter and number combinations of each aisle.

"Then again, it's not like this is anything special for that dumb little bunny. If she wasn't so fiercely dedicated to the things she is, she wouldn't be anything like the Carrots you went and fell in love with, would she? You knew what you were in for when you went and showed you felt the same way for her that she did for you last year, so now you just gotta suck it up and own that," he kept arguing with himself for nobody to hear; a troubling little habit whenever he knew he was all alone.

"Still, if she keeps pushing herself non-stop like that, who knows what could happen? Just be glad you're taking some of the workload off her shoulders and making it a little easier on her. You've been a cop this long, it's about time you learned to take some initiative of your own anyway," he then went on to reassure himself.

"Maybe if we're lucky, the chief'll actually let us go home for the night. And if you're even luckier, maybe she'll be attentive enough for you two to talk. You know you've been itching to since this morning. Why else would you-?" he went on further just as he realized he was at the aisle he needed and rounded the corner; freezing dead stiff in his tracks once he noticed a hulking shadow rifling through one of the drawers, the one he automatically assumed to be the very one he was looking for.

And worst of all, the shadow froze just as soon as the fox did; knowing that it was no longer alone.

"Hey, freeze! ZPD," Nick instantly switched into serious mode as he reached for his badge and his Taser; only for within the split second he took his eyes off the shadow, to look back and find the entire drawer it'd been rooting through flying right for his head.

His heart practically got caught in his throat as he instinctively dived to his right for it come crashing harmlessly to the floor. He scrambled onto all fours as he rushed back to find the shadow sprinting away from him down the neighboring aisles. Not even wasting a second to think, the fox took off right after it.

"You, stop! Stop in the name of the law," he called out after the shadow as it kept ducking round corners in an attempt to lose him, but the fox was nothing if not quick on his feet. Nevertheless, whoever it was that'd just tried to brain him with a drawer was fast for its size.

Once Nick rounded another corner, he nearly tripped on several uprooted drawers that the stranger had forced out in an attempt to slow the fox down, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. Using his natural swiftness, he quickly sidestepped or hopped over the numerous spilled drawers littering the aisle as the shadow seemed to become even more desperate to escape in how hard it was sprinting.

"This is Officer Wilde to dispatch! I've got an unidentified assailant trying to flee at City Hall! One individual, unidentified species! They've already tried to assault an officer! Requesting immediate backup! I repeat, requesting immediate backup at City Hall," he quickly remembered to announce into his radio as he continued the chase. It wasn't long after he realized they were proceeding further and further out to the edges of the record hall. If this meant anything, it had to mean Nick's mystery suspect was looking for some kind of escape route.

Soon catching the sound of another crash, Nick rounded the nearest corner to find the shadow struggling back to its feet after having apparently tripped trying to throw more drawers out to slow him down.

"This is your last warning! Stop where you are," he called out as he finally managed to pull out his secondary weapon, a single-shot tranquilizer pistol. However, the stranger instead stopped at the end of the aisle and proceeded to grab onto it and pull with all its might; and with a resonating groaning of wood and steel, Nick came to a screeching halt as he felt himself shrink as the towering mass of shelves began to tilt over toward him.

Like his tail had suddenly been lit on fire, the fox dashed faster than he'd ever dashed before; not even looking for the mystery culprit anymore as the voice in his head could only scream for him to run and keep running; trying to block out the tumultuous crashing of dozens of heavy shelves as the aisle collided into the opposite; sending that one tumbling as well, and so on and so forth in a cataclysmic domino effect, while Nick Wilde had only just barely managed to get out of the path of destruction, his heart pounding at his ribs to escape.

With his ears ringing from the deafening crash, Nick slowly struggled to get back onto his feet, looking all around for any sign of the stranger who'd nearly flattened him. But to his quickly returning despair, there was no sign of the stranger to be seen anymore.

Until his extra sharp hearing suddenly picked up the unmistakable distant squeak of a window being forced open. With a whole new surge of adrenaline, the fox quickly darted for the source, soon coming across an ajar door to what looked like a utility closet, and just opposite from him, a wide open horizontal window lining the top half of the wall.

Knowing this had to be the only way they could've escaped, Nick quickly scrambled up the wall and forced himself over the edge; landing roughly on the asphalt below before he suddenly heard the sound of a rattling chain link fence. His eyes darting to his left, he saw the stranger hurriedly trying to lift themselves over the top of the fence while clutching what looked like a folder in one of its paws.

"YOU! STOP RIGHT THERE, I'M WARNING YOU," Nick shouted out as he dashed for the fence; pulling his tranquilizer out again, nearly halfway down the alley by the time the shadow fell from the top of the fence and rolled on impact.

Not willing to take any more chances with words but still not breaking his stride, Nick quickly steadied both his arms while trying to aim down the sights through the fence in an attempt to get a bead on them.

His breathing too wracked and anxious to get his aim steady, Nick hurriedly pulled the trigger and sent a single dart flying through a gap in the fence, only for his frustration to flare even more fiercely to see it fly past the shadowy stranger harmlessly.

Using his momentum and light weight to his advantage, Nick quickly leaped just before meeting the fence and used his momentum to quickly scramble up for the top of the fence; only for the piercing screech of tires to suddenly break the monotonous drone of the night.

As he reached the top, Nick looked to see the stranger looked to have been just barely hit by a passing car that had hurriedly come to a stop, and just as quickly as they'd been hit, they were already scrambling for as many of the papers they must've been looking to get away with as they could before taking off in a rush again.

Wasting no further time, Nick let himself drop from the top of the fence, luckily thinking to follow suit and roll upon meeting the ground; admittedly impressed with his own ability as he didn't even waste a second for recovery and was already right back into chase mode.

Unfortunately though, just as he reached the sidewalk and the adjoining street, a whole mess of traffic suddenly came roaring down from both sides; effectively bringing Nick Wilde to a screeching halt as he tried to look past the speeding lights to find the last remnant of his mystery culprit disappearing forever into the dark of an adjacent alleyway.

The fox struggled to catch his breath now that he'd been forced to stop; the pounding of his heart nearly deafening to the point he couldn't even hear the driver of the car from earlier talking to him, instead focusing on the maelstrom of conflicting emotions battling in his head; all stemming from the painful realization of his failure.

The echoes of numerous ZPD sirens emanated from behind him; no doubt his ever –late-as-always backup arriving in front of City Hall, when Nick suddenly heard the rustling of paper being blown by the resulting wind from the passing traffic, and his green eyes landed on a single piece of paper just landing at his feet. Natural curiosity guided him into picking it up, and upon looking, he nearly felt a spark through his whole body.

It was an entire profile on Leonard Pantera. This HAD to be something the culprit had missed in their rush to get away. He almost wanted to start laughing in victory to at least know it hadn't been a TOTAL loss.

 **Two hours later…**

The last couple of hours had been quite fun, in the most sarcastic way possible. Nick knew in the back of his head he would have a lot of explaining to do, especially for why a whole section of the records hall had been totaled; he just didn't realize how much harder it would be to have to explain himself not only to Chief Bogo but to the mayor and pretty much everyone else at City Hall as well. Half the time he'd been scared witless that the chief would not only have his badge but also lock him up to boot for destruction of government property, but it seemed the detail that the fox's mystery culprit had been rooting through something directly related to the case had fortunately steered the chief's attention from Wilde himself.

It was a lot of new information to take into consideration, and something Nick knew would take quite some time to figure out a plan for, so he could only assume he was at least temporarily in the clear. He could only hope Bogo and Mayor Lionheart would find out how to explain the sudden police activity at City Hall once the press got a whiff of it.

But for as stressful yet mercifully quick the last two hours had gone, at least fate had decided to smile on Nick for once by having Chief Bogo allow him and Judy to turn in for the night and, miraculously enough, even take the next day off to recollect themselves since they'd been going nonstop since the crack of dawn. As crazy as it seemed for the ZPD chief to do so in light of all that was going on, Nick wasn't going to argue.

He somehow managed to feel like a whole new fox once he'd finally changed out of his uniform and nearly face-planted into his beloved sofa once the two had finally returned home; and it wasn't long after that Judy had managed to find herself back in her favorite spot, snuggling up right next to him once he'd had the forethought to give her some room of her own.

"I still just can't believe it. I mean, seriously, what are the odds The one time you decide to head out into the field by yourself, and you not only end up in a foot chase, but you nearly manage to destroy the whole records hall for all of Zootopia. I swear, you've got to have some kind of omen chasing you around I didn't know about, jinxed fox," she playfully made fun of her partner as he just lay back with a contented grin and let her have her fun.

"Only whenever you aren't around, Carrots," he teased right back; prompting her to playfully shove him.

"Hey, you're the one who was so insistent I stay behind, so no take backs," she pretended to scold him before they both gave in to another of their periods of mutual laughter that settled into comfortable silence.

"So pray tell, mother cottontail, were YOU able to come up with anything while I was trying to avoid getting squashed?" Nick finally asked while Judy rested her tiny frame against his arm; spurring him into bringing it around and pulling her closer.

"Nothing all that out of the ordinary. A lot of it was just recap of who was involved and what overall happened. Although in the afterward, there was one thing I noticed that I thought seemed a bit unusual. Have you ever heard of something called Hightower Real Estate?" she admitted before Nick's ears perked in curiosity.

"No, can't say that I have. Why?" he asked while Judy looked to be deep in thought.

"Well, apparently they're some big real estate firm, supposedly located in multiple cities besides Zootopia. When I was looking over the locations of the fires from the old Pantera case, Hightower Real Estate purchased all the lands that those fires took place in. I looked them up a bit and it turns out they have a track record of purchasing damaged properties, typically in low-income neighborhoods, and they proceed to establish a bunch of small time businesses on those properties in order to bring jobs to the communities," she went on to further elaborate; and while Nick could see why it would seem so peculiar that all those exact lands were bought by the same corporate entity, nothing about it really screamed anything investigation-worthy.

"You think it's possible they're just trying to show the mass public their charitable side? I mean, doesn't that ultimately BENEFIT those communities?" he couldn't help but point out, and the look of acceptance in Judy's violet eyes seemed to tell him that she'd come to the same conclusion herself.

"So what about you? I don't suppose you were able to recover anyt-?" she began to ask in return before a piece of paper adorned with Leonard Pantera's photo was being held in front of her face, while Nick had that common satisfied grin on his face.

"Right before I lost them, the culprit got hit by a car. They tried to grab everything they dropped and they must've been too panicked to notice they forgot this," nick explained before Judy suddenly snatched it from his paws and was already perusing it over in anticipation.

"Hello, THIS wasn't in the copy we had. It looks like shortly before the whole WXH-8 incident happened, Pantera was temporarily institutionalized at Cliffside for psychiatric care, just a couple years before that place closed down," she spoke mostly to herself while Nick looked over her shoulder to read it himself.

"Well I don't know what you plan to do with that, Fluff. You just said that place is abandoned yourself," he pointed out; hating to be the bearer of bad news, but the bunny didn't look at all discouraged.

"The fine print, Nick; you should learn to read it more. They've got the name for his primary psychiatrist on here: Angela Ramsbury. Maybe if we cross reference her in the ZPD system, we could try to find her and maybe she could give us some more info on his psyche profile. That's gotta count for something," she theorized, to which Nick actually looked rather enthused himself.

"Alright, I was at a loss for how we'd spend our surprise day off anyway. The two of us, working off the clock, not having to worry about protocol and all that nonsense; it'll be just like the good old days," he said in agreement, quite amused with the irony while Judy's smile only brightened as she instinctively cuddled up closer to him; inspiring him to bring his arms around and hold his little fuzzy bunny close.

For the next couple minutes, the only sound that could be heard was the faint hustle and bustle of Zootopia's nightlife going on outside, while Nick basked in Judy's warmth and she began playfully running her tiny little fingers up his shirt.

"You know, while I was still at the station, when I heard everyone talking about how you got attacked and needed backup…for a split second there, I didn't even realize it until now, but…deep down, I was terrified that something really bad had happened to you," she finally admitted in a hushed whisper; instantly grabbing Nick's attention once her paw's grip on his shirt started to tighten, as if she were doing so involuntarily.

"Hey, don't start with that now, Carrots, alright? I was scared too, but look, I'm still here, aren't I? You don't have to worry about that anymore, this dumb fox is still here to make your every second just as intolerable as before, okay?" he tried to reassure her in his own personal way while lifting her little chin so her deep velvet eyes could look into his lively green ones. Judy couldn't help but slightly chuckle in amusement while bringing her paws over his.

"It's your fault, you know. All your constant worrying this last week is starting to rub off on me," she playfully reprimanded him before crawling a little ways up to kiss him.

"Sorry, didn't think it would be that easy. Anything I can do to make up for it?" he pretended to apologize while she snuggled up against his torso while his hold on her grew tighter.

"Well, if we can cuddle as much as I want to tonight, and so long as you know not to let go until I say you can, that'd be a good start," she immediately proposed, to which Nick's smile only grew that much more amused. She wouldn't be hearing any complaints from him over that.

 **The Next Morning…**

Last night had been just the kind of quiet, peaceful and relaxing that they'd both desperately needed, and the fact they both had been able to sleep in at least a little bit and know they had the whole day to themselves only made the realization that much sweeter.

All of Judy's natural energy had come back to her in abundance as she'd already been eager to get herself dressed for the day and even proceeding to make breakfast while Nick took his sweet time to get out of bed and proceed to freshen himself up for the morning.

"So do you wanna see how we can find that Ramsbury lady after we eat, or do you wanna relax a little bit more first?" he asked from inside the bathroom while proceeding to get his fur looking as neat as he wanted it to.

"You know me, Nick; the sooner we get on it, the better," was all she had to say while he just chuckled. Typical Carrots, always so eager.

The minutes seemed to pass by as he'd taken the care to get himself as presentable-looking as he knew he could be. It wasn't a half bad look, if he dared say so himself. Almost good enough for if he and Judy were lucky enough to have some real alone time tonight. If so, every instinct in his brain while gazing at his reflection was unanimously screaming for him to seize the moment.

"NICK! NICK, GET IN HERE," Judy's voice suddenly screamed from inside the living room, and there was no trace of that playfulness or overall positivity he'd so come to expect from her. The fox quickly bolted in to see what was wrong, and he was instantly met with the sight of Judy standing in front of the TV; her little knees trembling and her ears sunken low and her violet eyes wide as dinner plates as she barely managed to hold the remote steady.

Following her gaze, Nick looked up and nearly felt his heart nosedive into the pit of his stomach and his whole body go frigid cold.

Plastered on the TV screen for all to see, with the torturous commentary of the ZNN news anchors prattling away, was what looked like a street camera photograph of Nick and Judy kissing in their squad car.

 **Well, with the revelation of new clues and a mysterious third party, the worst secret has finally come to light. I'm sorry for making you all wait this long for all this. I'm trying my hardest to keep up my momentum, but it just gets so much harder the more I try. Anyway, I hope you all find this chapter to have been worth the wait. I'd love to hear all your thoughts and opinions on it.**


	7. The Word Is Out

**Well everyone, it looks like the reception for the much delayed Chapter6 was what I was hoping it would be. So I can only hope this chapter meets your expectations just as much as the last one did. What's to happen now that Judy and Nick's deepest secret has been revealed to the public? Only one way to find out.**

 **Update: 11/25: I can't begin to apologize enough for how long I've allowed this story to slide out from my priorities. Real life issues such as work, school and getting a new car have been taking presidence over this last couple of months, especially issues like my struggles with depression. Needless to say, 2016 as a whole has not been a good year, for many people. I usually try not to let my real life concerns merge into my creative writing world, but in this particular case, I just couldn't keep it to myself, not just because you guys are all here for me to entertain and have been with me with the utmost loyalty all this time, but because part of me thinks a lot of you may be sharing some of these stresses, particularly regarding this recent presidential election; an issue that concerns not just Americans but many people across the globe as well.**

 **I'm someone who has been raised all his life to respect others regardless of their skin color, national background, gender, religion and sexual orientation. But on top of that, my early life was constantly plagued and permanently damaged by constant bullying in schools, and so stories surrounding bullying and the tragic effects it has on people with no one to turn to have a tendency to hit me much harder than others. I've always been a supporter of giving kids that are victims of bullying better resources and avenues to seek help before they do something irreparable to themselves or anyone else. So, all that being said, to see someone with such blatant disrespect and bullying tendencies like Donald J. Trump become elected president left me in…well, an immensely depressed and frankly broken state, to say the very least.**

 **I always try to speak about the inherent goodness in us as individuals, and yet seeing truly ugly people like this become rewarded for their behavior leaves a sickened feeling in my gut. But no matter how much I may want to just stay in bed some days and spend all my time worrying for our future not only as a nation but as a species or direct the anger I feel towards those that helped him make it this far, there's a part of me that always remains to remind me that doing so would make me no better than the same people that would be doing this were the results different. We shouldn't let our fear, our anger or our disappointment manifest in such ugly ways. Now more than ever is a time when we need to stand together, not as Americans or Africans or Europeans, but as human beings who all live under the same sky. Yes, we may have our differences, and we may not all get along, those are truths that will never fade away. But we shouldn't let those differences divide us. We all have the potential to be better people if we take the chance to better understand each other, help each other when we're struggling.**

 **If nothing else, that's a lesson I've truly taken to heart out of this turbulent year, and all the fears and concerns I felt throughout the duration of this election really made that clear to me; but at the same time, I'm not gonna lie, inspirational sources like Zootopia helped those feelings manifest so much more strongly in me as well. Perhaps that was one of the reasons I fell in love with this movie and saw it as many times as I did. Knowing just what lay ahead for our country and us as a people, this came with the right message at the perfect time. And knowing that at least one person could be moved and inspired by it the same way I was makes all the emotional strain completely worth it.**

 **I'm sorry if this came across as just some pointless rambling of one lowly individual, but these were words and sentiments I felt desperately needed to be shared with all of you across the world. I love each and every one of you as my brothers and sisters of the human race, whether you're American, Christian, Muslim, Hispanic, Jewish, white, black, Asian, African, European, male, female, trans, straight, bisexual, homosexual or anything else under the sun. I love you all equally one and the same.**

 **So with all my couple months' worth of boiled over emotions being shared, I feel now's as good a time as ever to finally get back to giving this story the continuation it's always deserved.**

 **Zootopia and its characters do not belong to me, they are all the property of Disney.**

' _This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening, this can't be happening!'_

These were the words painfully echoing in frantic desperation in Judy Hopps' head the longer she stared despairingly at the traffic camera photo on full display on the TV: a painfully crystal clear black and white snapshot of her and Nick Wilde in their cruiser, with her perched on his lap and the two of them locking lips for now all of the city to see.

All at once did she realize this had to have come from their impromptu stop in Tundra Town, and just as quickly did her mortification turn into anger; anger at herself, solely for letting her guard down so carelessly. And now the evidence was right there in broad daylight, and all she could feel was her legs going weak and her stomach twisting and turning as she fell to her knees trembling all over.

' _Oh god…oh god, how could I've been so stupid?! What was I thinking?!'_ was practically ringing deafeningly as Judy didn't even feel herself fall to her knees; unable to bear looking at the TV anymore, her arms clutching around her midsection as she didn't even realize how badly she was hyperventilating at this point.

"Whoa, whoa, Judy, breathe, okay? Hey, look at me," Nick immediately knelt at her side the instant her saw her collapse; but the poor grey bunny's gaze was fixated to the floor even as he gently grabbed onto her shoulders. In all honesty, the fox's voice was nothing more than a distant echo far beneath the water as far as she was concerned right now.

' _What did I do, what did I do, what the heck did I do?! Oh god, I think I'm gonna be sick! What am I supposed to tell anyone? Why is this happening NOW?!'_ she started frantically thinking to herself; not even noticing Nick's paws clutching her shoulders as her whole body felt ice cold. She could only imagine what people watching the news must've been thinking or saying at this moment; worst of all being the entire ZPD and her family. Was there even anything she COULD say to any of them once the storm hit? For the first time in ages, she felt well and truly and utterly terrified of the entire world outside these four walls.

"Hey, Judy, talk to me here, Cottontail," Nick's voice suddenly rang in with almost shocking clarity; Judy nearly hopping a foot in the air as her senses all at once snapped back to reality, with a clearly very worried-looking Nick kneeling at her side.

"Oh my God, Nick, tell me this isn't happening! Tell me this isn't real," the words spontaneously began coming out before Judy could even stop to collect herself, instantly pacing the room in a panic; trying to resist the urge to start nervously chewing on her tiny claws while at the same time feeling like her fur was about to start standing on end. By this point, Nick had thankfully taken the measure of at least muting the TV so she didn't have to feel the cruel droning of the anchor-mammals' commentary.

"Okay, Carrots, would you just stop for a second and look at me? You need to slow down, take a breath, try to calm down," Nick attempted to advise her as he began to approach the poor bunny, but when she did stop, the look in her violet eyes was anything but calm.

"'Calm down'? Were you not seeing the same news story I was? How am I supposed to calm down? All of Zootopia's probably seen that photo by now! Who even knows what they must be thinking? How are YOU so calm about this?!" Judy instantly snapped; but this time Nick didn't falter. How could he honestly blame her for acting this way now? Truthfully, deep down the red fox was just as scared as the little grey bunny before him, but he thankfully still had the years of emotional defense to thank for his calm façade.

"What makes you think I'm not freaking out just as much as you on the inside, Carrots? Who says I'm really calm right now?" Nick suddenly asked; his voice low and serious as he slowly approached the momentarily stunned bunny before finally getting onto his knees and gently planting his paws on her shoulders, giving Judy no choice but to look into his eyes.

What she saw told her everything. As much of an expert as Nick had proven himself to be at hiding his emotions, when it came to her, it was his eyes that always showed her the true extent of his feelings. And right now, what she was seeing from her usually perfectly-composed partner was a deep-rooted fear and painful sense of uncertainty that she could only imagine was practically radiating from her entire body. And that was when she noticed the extent of the grip the fox had on her shoulders.

He was trying so hard to look calm for her sake, but the way she could feel his paws so slightly trembling as they held onto her, almost as if for dear life, told her all she could've needed to know. Even without having to say so in words, Nick still had ways to convey how truly not-alone Judy was, even in a moment as terrible as this one. And in a strange way, that kind of silent reassurance still managed to make the bunny just the slightest bit calmer; but that still wasn't saying much as she could still feel her heart hammering at her chest and her stomach twisting in the still painful reality.

"You've always been the one between us to never crack under pressure, Carrots; and if you start freaking out right now…then I don't think it'd hurt to say we'd be in real trouble, you know? So please, try to do us both a favor and take a moment to breathe…for me," Nick said softly into her ear as he instinctively brought his hold from her shoulders to her waist; holding her small yet warm and fuzzy body close, and too preoccupied on trying to calm her down to even feel her reciprocate by bringing her arms around him as well.

What a special kind of irony it was to Judy the more she dwelt on it. It was the darn affections she and this fox felt for each other that continued to only grow with every passing day that got them into this mess in the first place, and yet even now it was the one thing that was managing to even remotely bring her back to her senses, as if basking in the comforting warmth only Nick could give her was all she needed to let her know she was at least safe and sound for now.

But nevertheless, even as her heartbeat began to slow down, the almost cruelly lingering traffic cam photo projected on the TV screen kept Judy's fears from fully dissipating. Just because she could now take the time to think didn't make this nightmare any less real.

"There we go, Carrots, there we go. You can't tell me you don't feel at least a little better, right?" Nick asked as he finally pulled away enough so he could at least look Judy in the eye, but his hopeful smirk slowly faded as she couldn't bring herself to return his gaze.

"Honestly, Nick? No…I don't. This…this is really happening and I…I-I've got nothing. I kept hoping we wouldn't have to ever deal with something like this, or at the very least we'd be able to deal with it when we both felt we were ready, but…now? In the middle of everything else that's happening, for this to suddenly happen, when everyone out there's already on edge as it is? I can't lie right now, Nick…I-I'm scared. How-how do we DEAL with something like this, how do we explain this not only to those people, but to the ZPD, to my family? We're stuck in this, and for once I honestly don't know what to do. So…if you've got any ideas how we make this better…please, please tell me."

Her voice sounded so desperate for a solution, her already vibrant violet eyes conveying a heartwrenching sense of helplessness; the strength with which she was now holding onto him similar to that of a frightened child begging their parent to protect them. If he had ever naturally been the mushy type, Nick would've done everything in his power, maybe even used every word in his vocabulary to try and fill Judy's head with words of hope; reassurances that everything would be fine, that the world would leave them alone and this overwhelming obstacle would fade away like a bad dream.

But despite how much he wanted to do just that, Nick couldn't justify giving her nothing but empty words and hot air now of all times. She'd always deserved so much more than that even before this new mess had presented itself, but now especially did his precious bunny deserve the truth…but the problem now was just how painful that truth was. And the worst part of it all was that he could tell she'd realized that as well when she saw his ears regretfully fold back as he struggled to find the words before finally letting out a sigh of defeat.

"I…I-I'm sorry, Carrots…but I don't," were the words that finally escaped his mouth as he looked right into her eyes in the hopes it could help convey how truly sorry he was to let her down at this moment.

If their mutual despair had been any deeper, they probably wouldn't have even heard the low hum of Judy's cellphone as it vibrated against their kitchen counter; this overwhelming predicament making the once harmless mundane electronic sound equivalent to that of a dreaded death knell as they both hesitantly looked toward it. There were only so many possibilities who was on the other end, and they both knew there were no positive results to be had. But regardless, Judy reluctantly let go of Nick as she cautiously approached to answer; every sensation in her body reminding her that if they were to cower away from the outside now, then they'd never be able to work up the courage to face it again.

Of course, even despite it being far too late to turn back once she'd grabbed her phone, all her courage fell to the bottom of her stomach like a pile of bricks the instant she saw it was Chief Bogo of all mammals calling. Time nearly seemed to freeze as she had to force herself to hit the 'answer' button.

"Hopps...you and Wilde, in my office, ASAP," was what immediately came out of the phone the instant she answered, and just as she'd been dreading, he'd gone and hung up before she could even try and formulate the words. The ZPD chief was intimidating enough whenever he was angry enough to raise his voice, but the fact that he sounded so…restrained somehow managed to make it all the worse; as though he were just saving it all up for when they'd be face to face. The poor, poor bunny nearly felt like she was going to pass out as she hesitantly turned towards her equally scared-looking partner.

"I'm guessing making the news again isn't getting us the day off anymore, huh?" Nick forced himself to ask, already able to guess it had to be their boss from the look of utter hopelessness on Judy's face.

"What should we do, Nick? Everyone's bound to recognize us if we even set foot out there, and who knows what they might say or do? But if we don't go, you know we're as good as fired. Oh god, I feel like I'm gonna heave," Judy lamented; prompting Nick to rush to her side before she could collapse again.

All at once did a knocking suddenly come from their door, and if Nick hadn't promptly brought a paw over her mouth, Judy probably would've screamed, she was so high strung now. It absolutely killed the fox to see the normally so brave and collected bunny currently in his arms be reduced to such a nervous wreck in a matter of minutes; and all because someone out there with access to the traffic cameras couldn't do the decent thing for one lousy second and decided instead to throw both their lives into complete disarray, probably for a quick buck from the first news studio they could think of. Just the lingering thought would've left Nick seething with anger the likes of which he wouldn't have recalled feeling in years if he hadn't been so focused on comforting Judy and still looking nervously at the door.

Unwilling to prolong the inevitable any more than they already had, Nick very reluctantly approached the door, and much to Judy's surprise, his posture actually seemed to calm down…somewhat, upon looking through the peephole.

Upon opening their front door, nearly filling their doorframe, at least girth-wise, was Benjamin Clawhauser, and thankfully no other officers to accompany him from the looks of it. However, to both their silent concern, the normally jovial overweight cheetah looked just about as upset as they were.

"Clawhauser? W-what are you doing here?" Judy managed to force herself to ask. He was usually at his post at the front desk of the ZPD so often, one would've almost thought he never went anywhere else, so to see something so out of the ordinary couldn't help but leave the bunny and fox duo visibly worried.

"W-well, Chief Bogo wanted me to…make sure you both got to the ZPD okay, if at all," Clawhauser struggled to find the words.

"Does he really think we would've just taken our chances and stayed here, or that we would've tried to run like fugitives?" Nick instinctively asked; unable to help but feel mildly intimidated, or perhaps even insulted.

"N-no, no, no, it's nothing like that at all, honest. It's more out of concern for your safety than anything else. I realize this isn't the best time to say this, but I think you both deserve to know, the public is not taking the news well," Clawhauser tried to explain himself; hating the fact he was only bringing further bad news as Judy started curling up into a ball in the corner.

"Why did this have to happen? Why is everyone focusing on THIS? There are so many more important things they could be wasting their time obsessing over. That arsonist they were all freaking out over yesterday is still out there, and THIS is what everyone is getting angry over? Why can't they just mind their own business?" Nick growled, mainly to himself as the unfairness of it all seemed to really be sinking in at long last.

"I'm sorry, but nobody really has an answer to that, Wilde. Either way, the chief thought it would be best if you both had an escort to look out for you, and as much as I hate to say, we really shouldn't keep him waiting," the pudgy cheetah relented with clear regret. Realizing there was no other option, Nick let out a heavy sigh as he returned to Judy's side and helped her back onto her feet; even taking the care to grab a nearby tissue box for her to dab her eyes with.

For once struggling to get into their uniforms, the two quickly rejoined their well-meaning comrade as they began hesitantly making their way out into the hall and down the stairs. Every echoing footstep in the stairwell nearly resonated with a grim foreboding as Nick and Judy both felt like their fur would stand on end at any second. Who knew what they'd run into outside, and especially once they got to the ZPD? Their normally childlike enthusiasm for it all was replaced only with the kind of tension and apprehension that could make one's blood go cold.

Once they stepped out into the lobby, the usual silence of it they had normally never paid any mind to had so much more malice about it now. It was as if they were expecting the hateful gaze of any passersby, fellow tenants or even their landlord to come out of the very cracks in the walls once they stepped into the open.

"Alright, you two, once we're out, I'll get you straight to the cruiser and I'll get you to the station as quickly as I can. Just keep your heads down, and I'll do the best I can to keep you out of view," Clawhauser quickly instructed with a surprising amount of professionalism as he started ushering Nick and Judy to follow him with due haste; the fox and bunny doing exactly as they were told and nearly crouching down as they followed the cheetah through the front doors, almost as if they were literally using his abundant girth as cover.

Upon stepping outside, it was as if a whole new surge of adrenaline kicked in as Clawhauser nearly grabbed them both by their sleeves and quickly rushed them to the nearby police cruiser before hastily ushering them inside and getting the doors closed and firmly locked once he got behind the wheel. All the while, Nick and Judy didn't dare lift their heads up lest some random passerby see them through the passenger windows until they could feel the cruiser finally taking off down the road; all three mammals letting out a heavy breath of anxiety now that they were at least relatively safe.

"Thank you so much, Clawhauser. I was honestly starting to think we'd never be able to get out with this news," Judy thanked their cheetah compatriot as she and Nick finally sat back into their seats.

"It's no problem, you guys. If we're being perfectly honest with each other, once I'd heard the news and how some of the public was starting to react, I probably would've volunteered if Chief Bogo had assigned anyone else to pick you up," Clawhauser admitted without any trace of regret; the seemingly boundless optimism that he normally exuded thankfully having returned.

"Yeah, speaking of which, no offense, but I always figured you to be the desk jockey type, and not really much else. I honestly didn't think something like this would light that much of a fire under your tail to make you take up escort duty," Nick piped in; the sense of genuine appreciation in his tone being the one thing keeping Judy from giving him a disapproving elbow to the ribs for the unneeded 'desk jockey' bit.

"Well, you and I may not talk much, Wilde; but I like to think Officer Hopps and I consider ourselves to be friends after all this time, and I'm not about to just do nothing and leave my friends out to dry like that," Clawhauser admitted; which he could fortunately see brought an appreciative smile to Judy's face. It pretty much told him that she felt the same. In all honesty, in the short time before she had gotten to meet and really know Nick; she honestly considered the rotund and almost childlike dispatcher to be the closest thing to her one real friend among the ranks of the ZPD, mainly in a very innocent high school BFF's kind of way. Funny how nearly two years in the police service and a shared love for Gazelle could snowball into such a thing.

"Is that why Chief Bogo assigned you to get us to the ZPD?" Judy asked as Clawhauser gave her a rather sad looking glance in the rear view mirror.

"Well, I'd like to say 'yes'…but it's really because I think he saw I was the one reacting the least…well, expressively than everyone else, for lack of a better word," he admitted; a twisting sensation of guilt stirring within as he saw Judy and Nick's ears instantly fold simultaneously. Knowing that the public was looking at them as Zootopia's newest social pariah's was bad enough; but to know their comrades in upholding the law were feeling just as terribly towards them somehow managed to feel even worse.

"Unbelievable. We've been working alongside them for over a year; nearly two in your case, Carrots, and their loyalty's about as dependable as a friend in high school being invited to hang with the popular clique. Sad thing is…I wish I were more surprised by this," Nick muttered; unable to hide the deep-lying sense of betrayal in his tone. Yeah, he'd never really made much of an effort to socialize with anyone else. As far as he was concerned, Judy was all he really needed to get by in the ZPD, but he at least had hoped their unanimous oath to serve and protect would at least encourage SOME form of comradery among them.

"Please, I know this is a lot for you guys to take in; way too much if you ask me, but please try not to hold this against everyone. It's just that…well, this story the news is running on you is really bringing a lot of ideas to everyone's minds they really haven't had to look at before, and I think a lot of them really don't know how to wrap their heads around it yet," Clawhauser tried to defend his co-workers just as the ZPD headquarters finally came into sight. Fortunately from the looks of it, no angry mob had started forming out front, but that didn't make the three mammals feel any safer as the cheetah quickly took the route leading to the underground lot.

"But if that's the case, then how are you taking this so well, Clawhauser?" Judy finally got to the one question she and Nick had both been eager to ask since the dispatcher's unexpected arrival just as he pulled into the parking spot nearest the elevator. As the engine died and they were all left in silence, the cheetah held onto the steering well; taking a deep breath before finally letting out a heavy sigh.

"Before I can answer that, there's just one thing I need to ask you guys…is it true? Is what the news saying about you guys being…involved, really true?" he suddenly asked, catching Judy and Nick alike off guard.

"Is there really a point in asking? Everyone's seen the photo, and you even saw us both in the same apartment. Wouldn't that pretty much say it all?" Nick attempted to reason as Clawhauser shook his head.

"We all know photos can be manipulated, and more ZPD officers that are assigned partners share living spaces than you might think. I just…please, I just need to hear the truth from you guys. Is it all true? Are you guys actually…well, a couple?" the cheetah further emphasized his point as Judy and nick shared defeated gazes with each other. What point would there even have been in lying now; especially to what was probably their only friend in this whole mess?

"Yes…it's true," Judy finally admitted; her whole body stiffening up as if just bracing herself for the dispatcher to turn on them and deride them as freaks like everyone else no doubt was.

"How long has this been going on?" he suddenly asked further. They'd already dug themselves this deep into the hole; what good would it be to stop now?

"About a year now, ever since we took those couple weeks off for my…rehabilitation, if the chief had ever mentioned it. Carrots…Judy; well, she…really helped me out of a very dark place I was in," Nick piped in; the nostalgia almost making him want to give his partner another appreciative glance before realizing now was far from the right time.

"That's the whole truth, Clawhauser. You've always been a friend to us, and I'm sorry you had to find this out this way," Judy lamented while Clawhauser looked to be deep in his own thoughts.

"*sigh*…honestly…I kept thinking something like that ultimately would've started between you two, if it hadn't been already…that's honestly how I'm taking this so well," Clawhauser finally said; no trace of malice, betrayal or anything of the sort to be heard.

"I-I don't understand. W-What are you saying?" Nick wasn't afraid to admit his confusion as Clawhauser straightened himself up in his seat to look back at them through the mirror.

"I know everyone takes one look at me and thinks I'm just some excitable, childish excuse for an officer who doesn't take anything seriously; preferring to spend his free time eating sweets and listening to Gazelle all day long, and I'm not embarrassed to say that sometimes they may be right. But I deeply respect everyone I work with, you two obviously included; and as such, I always pay attention to what I see from my desk. I was always raised to believe that paying attention to the mammals around you and how they feel will help you to understand them better and as such get along with them better. So, I've always looked at the way you two talk to each other, the way you work off each other on your ways in and out of the station. I know this is sounding way more intrusive than I mean it to, but you two deserve to know how I really feel here.

"For so long, everyone else has always remarked how you're one of the best pairs the ZPD has ever had, and I honestly couldn't help but agree just looking at you two whenever you were around. But for a while; like you said before, Wilde, about the last year, I was always noticing something…well, different in the ways you were talking with each other, and especially looking at each other. I'm almost embarrassed to say I couldn't figure out what it was I was seeing there before this morning. But now that it's finally out there…I-I can't shake this instinctive feeling in my gut telling me that what's going on between you two is more real than what a lot of mammals these days have. I know I must sound like I'm making a lot of assumptions, but I like to think I can at least understand other mammals' feelings enough to say this with any kind of sureness."

As the cheetah continued on, Judy and Nick both couldn't help but feel amazed; not just at the revelation that he'd been paying that much attention to them all this time, or that their body language or gazes with each other for all this time had been so telling, but the fact that fate had decided to cut them a break and at least show them that Benjamin Clawhauser, if no one else, was really their friend in this hectic time.

"I know a lot of mammals wouldn't advise me making this decision based on just gut instinct, but like I said before, I just…I just feel certain deep down that what you two are doing is the real thing, and as such, I just want you to know that I'll always be on your side while this is going on," Clawhauser finally finished; his voice having given way to such deep-seeded emotion that he actually had to gasp for air when his point had finally been made. The cruiser was filled with an unreadable silence as he could see the two mammals in the backseat struggling to come to terms with what he'd just laid out on them, before Judy was finally able to crack only the slightest sign of a smile.

"Thank you, Clawhauser…thank you so much," she could barely manage the words whilst trying to keep from choking up while Nick placed a single paw on the cheetah's shoulder before giving an approving and grateful nod.

"It's my pleasure, you guys, but maybe hold off on thanking me until after you see the chief. Come on, we shouldn't keep him waiting any more than we already have," Clawhauser stated as they finally got out and headed for the nearby elevator.

Once inside, the three once more found themselves in an overbearing silence interrupted only by the electric *ding* of every floor as Nick finally shot a curious glance towards Clawhauser.

"Hey, Benny, I'm not typically one to look a gift horse in the mouth, metaphorically speaking, but I just have to ask; otherwise I'll go nuts with curiosity. Back there, you kept emphasizing how you just felt it in your gut that what Carrots and I have is more real than what most other mammals have relationship-wise. While I'm grateful for the vote of confidence, you're obviously really banking on your gut instinct being right. I'm just curious…we're just as capable of lying as literally any other mammal, some more than others, so just WHAT made you so positive about all this?" Nick finally worked up the courage to ask; trying to ignore the sharp glance Judy was shooting at him, as if silently asking if he was insane to suddenly be asking this of their possibly only ally. However, Clawhauser suddenly broke out into a smile that could only be described as 'witty' or 'clever' as far as he could be concerned.

"Okay, you got me. Since we're being completely honest here, I really just wanted to use that chance to really let you guys know why I'm supporting you in all this. People always have told me I have a tendency to talk a bit too much. But to really answer your question…you'd already proven your relationship is the real deal just by answering in the first place," he attempted to explain, but still feeling the confused gazes the fox and bunny were focusing on him.

"Okay, I'll explain. When I asked you if this whole thing the news was running on you was real, either one of you could've easily denied it, said it was a lie. I've known so many mammals that, if they were where you guys are right now, they would've easily taken any chance for an out they could've gotten, even if it meant throwing their friends or partners under the bus. It would've been the easiest thing in the world for either of you to just say 'no, it's not true' in an attempt to at least build up something of a case for yourselves…but neither of you did that. You both know me, I'm not some kind of an interrogator or the mammal who decides what happens to you, you both easily could've just lied to me and claimed you were innocent or being set up; and yet you both came out with it and admitted the truth, knowing that it would potentially end up hurting you both. That's how I knew."

Judy and Nick both couldn't help but look at the overweight cheetah with nothing short of silent amazement. Everything he said was right on the money, and neither of them had even realized it. It was almost tempting to call it 'ingenious' if nothing else how he'd gotten the truth out of them without even really trying. But in the end, if it'd managed to gain them at least one friendly face in all this, what right did they have to complain about being manipulated?

Before any more words could be said, with a resounding final *ding*, the elevator doors shifted open to reveal the hulking form of Chief Bogo filling the doorframe; his overbearing shadow shrouding over all three as they all visibly shrank under his gaze. They'd obviously never known the ZPD chief to be one to let his intimidating demeanor fade, but the intensity with which he stared down poor Judy and Nick was on a whole other level. This was beyond disappointment, or even his most furious anger. This was…something meant solely to freeze one's blood where they stood.

"You two, with me, now. Clawhauser, return to your normal post, but keep your radio on. I might need you again sooner rather than later, depending how this all plays out," the chief immediately ordered; never taking his freezing gaze off Judy and Nick as they obediently came to his side and followed him away from the elevator.

"Good luck, you guys," they could just barely hear Clawhauser sadly call out to them before the elevator doors closed again, finally isolating them from the only friendly mammal in the entire ZPD HQ.

The chilling cold shoulder Chief Bogo was treating them with gave their journey to his office the feel of a death march as they stuck close to him. Now that they were officially out in the open, there was nothing the bunny and fox duo could do to avoid the all-too noticeable glares of hostility, disappointment or outright disgust coming from their colleagues all around them. Some were so intense; they could almost feel their fur standing on end just to know it was there. It was when they were halfway there that the sheer atmospheric intensity of all nearly made Judy collapse; prompting Nick to quickly get his paws to her shoulders to support her, which their sharp hearing could tell brought out some disgusted groans or snorts from any of the passing officers.

"You two are a disgrace to this badge. Nail 'em both to the wall, chief," one especially disgusted-sounding voice called out from halfway across the hall; causing Nick and Judy to both visibly shrink behind Bogo's frame.

"That's enough out of you, Snarloff. You have your assignment, now get to it," the chief immediately reprimanded the passing wolf officer, who only grunted in distaste to himself while the three of them continued on their way. Any other officers passing them by didn't even have to say anything. The intensity of their gazes only grew stronger and stronger with each passing second; to the point Nick and Judy were mentally starting to brace themselves for someone to try and take a swipe at them.

But thankfully, they'd finally reached Chief Bogo's office, and the realization of that being considered good news in their home-away-from-home finally made them realize just how in for it they now were.

"Both of you, sit. And not. A. Word," Bogo ordered; stirring the two into the one seat opposite his desk as he shut and locked the door behind them and then silently sat himself behind his desk; his piercing gaze once more keeping them pinned as he grabbed a nearby remote from his desk and turned on a nearby TV monitor on the wall. Soon, the image and voice of Peter Moosebridge was there to break the insufferable silence.

"Continuing our coverage of this controversial story within the ranks of the ZPD, waves of dissent are already being felt among the citizens of Zootopia, both out on the streets and within social media, with many differing opinions and emotions being let out in droves for all to see. However, at this hour into our coverage, the majority opinion expressed by the public has been dominantly negative, with some demanding for the chief of the ZPD to come forward and address the situation and what is being planned in order to rectify the unrest; and others more aggressively expressing the desire for city hall to enact a complete restructuring of the ZPD as a whole, thus resulting in all current officers being forcibly terminated and a whole re-evaluation of what mammals do or do not belong on the streets protecting the law.

"In light of this recent public upset, many of the recent runners for city senator have had to noticeably backtrack on previous statements made for their campaigns; most notably Victor Bullba, who was the most vocal supporter and advocate for the ZPD in the previous months. As of this moment, Mayor Leodore Lionheart has refused to officially comment; only stating that it is the responsibility of the chief of police to settle whatever issues occur within his department. As such, many citizens we've interviewed on the streets have expressed their desires to gather at ZPD headquarters as soon as an official press conference has been announced. For those of you just tuning in, here are only a few interviews from the general public in response to the recent story of an unexpected and controversial development between noted ZPD officers Judith Hopps and Nicholas Wilde only submitted to our studio late last night."

After the nearly torturous droning of Moosebridge's voice had finally come to a halt, the screen then went to a multi-screen collage of numerous different mammals out on the streets; and much to the two partners' dread, they all looked nothing short of livid, or even just downright judgmental.

"It's downright disgusting, if you ask me. Different species should just stick to their own, the way nature has always intended it to be," a middle-aged goat grunted with unmistakable disgust in his tone.

"This is what happens when you start putting predators and prey together, especially in a force that enforces partnership on the field like the ZPD. They should start restructuring it so that only predators can work with other predators and visa versa. That way you don't start seeing deplorable trash like this," a fawn in a business suit stated as if it were concrete fact.

"You know, there was a reason you primarily saw mammals like bears, lions, tigers, elephants, wolves and rhinos making up the ranks of the ZPD for so long, and that's because they at least have it in them that their responsibility is to the public and upholding the rules that keep our society safe; not using their time that our taxes ultimately pay their wages for to go messing around with each other like a bunch of stupid teenagers. Mammals like rabbits and foxes have no sense of restraint, but I didn't think their sense of decency would be so skewed as well. This is why they don't belong out on the streets wearing those badges," an especially volatile-sounding pig stated angrily. That one especially seemed to upset poor Nick and Judy as Bogo could see them both squirming with discomfort in his peripheral vision.

"If nothing else, this should just go to show that not everyone belongs behind that badge. These smaller mammals suddenly start going around acting like they're above the rules; abusing their authority and even the laws of nature. It's a sign of these shameless times if you ask me," an older elephant fuming on a park bench stated without even looking at the camera operator.

"It's disgusting to think just what kind of upbringing those two must have had to actually think what they're doing is okay. It's unnatural, plain and simple. Good lord forbid they ever were to have children. What kind of world would we be living in where our kids would have to share a classroom with such a freak of nature like that?" a female aardvark nearly ranted in passing; followed by the equally on edge murmurs of agreement from many of the other passersby behind her.

"If anything, I think this is a reason why they shouldn't have foxes in their ranks. Judy Hopps has been something of an icon not only to the small mammals of this city, but to small mammals everywhere, especially us bunnies. If anything, we don't think she's at fault. It's all probably that fox Nick Wilde's fault. Everyone knows foxes are silver-tongued liars. How do we know he didn't just get into her head to try and get her into trouble like this? If anything, he's the one everyone should be angry at for trying to tarnish such a respectable officer's reputation like that," a small group of bunnies stated proudly while numerous others in their ranks were quietly murmuring to each other and nodding in agreement. Just the sight of such a thing, and just the implications they were making nearly made poor Judy's fur bristle where she sat.

It was then that Chief Bogo finally shut the TV screen off and put his hooves together; letting out a deep, gravelly-sounding sigh of exhaustion and long-repressed aggravation as the fox and bunny nervously returned his gaze. Hadn't they suffered long enough? The least he could do now was just get his yelling started and just let them ride out the storm.

"Chief Bogo, sir, I swear we can ex—" Judy began to speak out before the water buffalo's glare shot right at her and rendered silent instantly.

"You know, yesterday when I said the sooner something can come along to take the public's eye off our difficulty with our little mystery arsonist the better, THIS is exactly the opposite of what I had in mind. Yes, the two of you managed to make them forget that little slip up, but now you've painted a giant target on the back of the entire ZPD in the process! So please, Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde, explain yourselves right now before I decide to have both your badges and have you both out on your tails and at the public's mercy," the chief stated with no trace of humor or even his expected anger. All that could be heard was the worst kind of disapproval; spoken so low and with such gravel it sounded like he was one involuntary tick away from finally exploding on the both of them.

"No, actually, wait, let me just say this to you two first. I thought you of all my officers would understand just how against the rules what you're doing is. I thought they taught the trainees in the academy exactly why relationships like this are strictly forbidden between partners on the job. It clouds your judgment, draws your full attention from performing your duty to the best of your abilities. Have they just decided to throw that little detail out of the training curriculum and just forgot to tell me? This is especially disappointing to see coming from you, Hopps. You were Valedictorian of your class, I thought that would mean you'd read the ZPD handbook cover to cover. I thought your grasp on guidelines was enough for you to KNOW this is NOT allowed," the chief continued just as Nick was about to speak up; by this point having somehow managed to expend his frighteningly restrained anger and now taking deep breaths to maintain his composure.

"Sir, we do understand, and we are sorry that this is all happening, but the guidelines can't control…well, how we feel or what we do with our lives outside the ZPD," Judy tried to defend them both, but her bravado was quickly fading as she realized any protest would likely just dig their hole deeper.

"*sigh* I understand your reasoning, Hopps, but that doesn't change the fact that the guidelines and the rules are set in place in order to protect officers of the ZPD and the public that we've sworn to protect, and as such, we can't allow ourselves to make any decisions that hinder our ability to serve the public trust, which is unfortunately what you two have done. Now, I would prefer it never be said that I'm not fair in my judgments, so you two can feel free to explain yourselves," Bogo said, as firm as ever in his resolve while Judy and Nick both swallowed hard before Nick finally straightened himself up to look the chief in the eye.

"Where would you want us to start, sir?" Nick hesitated to ask while Bogo brought his hooves together.

"I'd think the beginning would be best, wouldn't you, Wilde? Just how long have the two of you been doing this under everyone's snouts?" the chief answered while the two took a simultaneous deep breath. No going back now.

"For pretty much the past year, sir. Ever since we had to take that time off for Ni—Officer Wilde's emotional rehabilitation. That whole period was a very…enlightening experience for both of us on a lot of different levels," Judy began while Bogo now looked to be taking in every word; momentarily nodding his head in response as if to silently beckon them to continue while processing everything.

"You weren't there when it all happened, sir, so I wouldn't know how to explain how everything happened in order to help you understand. When all was said and done, Car—I mean, Officer Hopps and I had already gone too far just to turn back and act like nothing had happened. That's when we decided we'd do our best to keep it to when we weren't on the job so this kind of thing wouldn't happen. Honest, we never planned for things to go this way," Nick continued; unable to help but sound protective of his partner in the process.

"Obviously that didn't make much of a difference here, did it? Look, since we're getting a lot of things out in the open, I think you both deserve to know, I only consider myself your boss when you're on the streets and wearing those badges. I honestly don't care what you or anyone else does on their own time. I've been around this blasted city long enough to know you're far from the first inter-species couple living their lives away from the prying eyes of the public, and I can almost guarantee you're not going to be the last.

"But here's the thing, those other individuals know to keep it away from the eyes of the mass public, the ones that are most likely to let their opinions and judgments be known, like the ones you just saw on the news. Just because this kind of thing exists doesn't mean it's accepted by the mass majority of mammals. It's just one of those things that exist in our world ever since we've evolved, but it exists in overall secrecy. Obviously, not a lot of mammals are comfortable yet with such a radical idea as two different species interacting with each other in such a…well, intimate way as this. History has proven time and again that mammals fear and even hate that which they don't understand, and change to what they've known to be the normal way of things for countless generations is the prime example.

"This little mishap between you two has now forced that kind of radical change right in everyone's faces. They can't just pretend it isn't happening now that the news is going on about it day and night, and so obviously they're going to react, violently even in some cases. Inter-species relations and even coexistence has always been a sensitive subject; you both should know that all too well from the Night Howler case two years back. If the public had been so divided enough by that event as to call for segregation between predators and prey in daily life, how do you think some are bound to react when you start throwing life-changing instances like romance into the mix? The fact that you're a predator/prey duo then only complicates the whole matter even more. Look, I could go on and on until I go even bluer in the face; but I'll make it plain and simple for you two: your actions are drawing a lot of unnecessary apprehension and deep-seeded fear out of the public, and it's not just going to go away overnight."

As the ZPD chief continued on, Judy and Nick's gazes gradually fell to the floor with shame. They couldn't rightfully deny that everything he was telling them made perfect sense. There were so many other mammals in this city that it would only make sense some were also bound to be in the same kind of relationship as them, and it was now through their own irresponsibility that those same mammals very lives' could now be in danger. They couldn't even deny that ultimately, the vitriolic response from the mass majority of the citizens wasn't entirely unfounded. Heck, it'd only been two years ago that Judy had finally managed to overcome her childhood fear of foxes. As much as they liked to think mammals of all kinds were finally coming together, they were still merely only in the process of doing so.

"So…so what's going to happen to us, sir?" Judy had to force herself to ask the most dreaded question while Chief Bogo leaned back into his chair and let out a weary grumble to himself, as if still deep in thought.

"Despite my…ill-advised threat earlier, the fact is I can't simply just have the two of you fired and have that be the end of it. Not only would I be violating my oath as an officer of the ZPD by putting two of Zootopia's citizens in known danger; but the painful truth is that you two aren't the only ones being vilified by the public and the media. At this point, they're putting the entire ZPD into question. They're thinking that since you two are partners, in every sense of the word now, who's to say most if not all other partnerships in the ZPD are going that far? Long story short, firing you two ultimately solves nothing," the chief admitted with a noticeable hint of defeat evident in his low tone, as if he'd really been banking on that being the go-to solution to their little problem.

"So what are the alternatives?" nick finally asked; one of his paws clutching his side of the chair as if to brace himself for the worst, not even realizing Judy was doing the same.

"The way things are now, having you two showing your faces out in the public for regular duty is out of the question, and we can't have you two continuing to work together around the station either, given how…well, unsympathetic everyone else here is feeling towards you to say the least. So right now I think the best option is to have you separated and sent into different precincts and have you both relegated strictly to office work. We're hoping that if the public doesn't see hide or tail of either of you out there for a good few weeks, the heat should hopefully die down. Out of sight out of mind, so to speak," the chief proceeded to explain; Judy and Nick's calm turning to shock before he could even finish, much to his dread.

"What But sir, we're still investigating the serial arsons! We have a lead to follow and everything! You can't seriously expect us to just hand it off to someone who doesn't have as much info on the case as us," Judy protested.

"Well having the two of you continue the investigation with the notoriety on your shoulders right now is almost literally impossible! The public and the media would be hounding you every step of the way and any hope of progress would come to a grinding halt! Separating the two of you and reassigning the case is the only option I have," Bogo immediately snapped back; causing Judy to recoil while Nick remained silent, deep in his own thoughts.

"You can't really think this is right, sir, can you? We've dedicated everything to serving and protecting those people out there every single day. We brought the citizens closer together than ever before with the Night Howler case, and now they're going to separate us and turn us into social pariahs just like that? And for what, because we actually make each other happy? We put our lives on the line for them, and they won't even allow us to love the mammals we love? How can anyone call this fair? It's just not right," Judy began to lament; trying so hard to keep from choking up, the sheer desperation for any kind of support in her voice managing to severely tug at the heartstrings of fox and water buffalo alike.

"Please believe me when I say this, Hopps, Wilde: no matter what you may think, I take no pleasure in doing any of this. You're right; you two have proven to be truly exemplary officers in the line of duty, performing your duties the best I've seen in years. And you're right, nothing about this is fair. I said it before; I honestly couldn't care less what you two do in the walls of your own home. You work so well together as partners, frankly I shouldn't have been surprised something like this was happening. But at the end of the day, my responsibility is to ALL officers of the ZPD, not just the two of you, and your actions could put them in a lot of potential danger. If the public thinks everyone in the ZPD is engaging in inter-species relations, who's to say some won't try to attack the first ZPD officer they see? I can NOT have that happening on my streets, and as such, I need to do this for the sake of all your comrades…as much as I would prefer not to have to divide you two in the process. Hopefully, once you both have been reassigned to your precincts, once I make a public announcement that proper action has been taken, it'll be enough to quell some of those with more…burning emotions, and hopefully restore some semblance of calm to the city."

"But sir, couldn't you speak to the Mayor, Mr. Bullba, anyone at City Hall, try to convince them to tell the people that they have no reason to worry?" Judy tried to reason with the now sullen-looking chief.

"You heard the news, Hopps; the mayor is refusing to comment on the matter. Besides, he may be the one that I answer to, but the ZPD isn't his jurisdiction, it's mine, hence the responsibility for fixing this whole mess is mine. And besides, I couldn't be able to speak to Victor Bullba even if it would make any difference. Since he was such a vocal advocate for our department, with this new controversy buzzing around, he's no doubt scrambling to try and convince his financial backers not to back away from funding his campaign. This has put him in just as much of a bind as the rest of us," Bogo continued on; making Judy hang her head in despair. At this point it nearly felt like god was up there laughing at their defeat.

"Before you do anything else, sir, let me just ask you one thing. Do you have any idea if that whole sentiment about me deceiving Officer Hopps is the popular opinion among the public, or just some outspoken minority?" Nick suddenly interjected; causing one of Judy's ears to spring up as she looked at her partner in confusion. She'd come to be so good at figuring out his way of thinking, but right now she had no idea what to expect.

"Perhaps not on the televised news, but on a lot of the social media sites it's quickly picking up in popularity among the public. Unfortunately it seems even your induction into the ZPD hasn't done much to lower public mistrust of foxes," Bogo admitted. However, instead of hanging his head in defeat alongside his partner, Nick's posture…actually seemed to stiffen, as if with unbreakable resolve.

"Alright then, sir. I think I have a solution," Nick suddenly proposed; his chest nearly puffing out with a deep breath as he jumped down from the chair, and before Judy and Bogo's eyes, tore off the badge from his uniform and undid his belt with paw-cuffs and tranquilizer pistol, and slammed them both on Bogo's desk.

"I may not have put in my two weeks' notice first, but I officially resign from the ZPD, sir," nick stated without hesitation; and he didn't even have to look to tell Judy looked like she was about to have a heart attack behind him.

"Nick, what the heck do you think you're doing? You can't resign," Judy instantly protested; hopping down from the chair and grabbing Nick by the shoulder, forcing him to look her in her already tear-brimmed violet eyes.

"Sorry, Carrots, but I just did," he tried to shrug it off in his typical nonchalant way, even trying to make his way for the door before Judy got in front of him and forced him to stop in his tracks with her paws against his chest.

"No! Don't try to act all sly and snarky with me now, dumb fox! Look me in the eyes and tell me…tell me what you're doing," Judy demanded; unable to stop the tears from rolling down her grey fuzzy face as her pink bottom lip was already trembling. Nick couldn't keep his defenses up seeing her like this as he let out a weary sigh and knelt down so their eyes could once again be level.

"I'm saving you, Carrots. It's about time I finally returned the favor, right?" he tried to explain as simply as he could, but he could tell that little bunny wasn't having any of it.

"Listen, Carrots, no matter what those people out there might be saying now, it doesn't change the fact that some of them still look at you like a hero. If the chief were to go out there and tell them that I just resigned; in light of all this, public opinion is bound to start flocking towards the idea that I'm the one responsible. At least then you'll at get to walk out of this thing the victim, and thus they won't be as angry with you once it's all over. Plus, this way you won't have to forfeit this case to anyone else, and you can finish what we started," Nick proceeded to explain; placing his paws on her tiny shoulders as if to try and emphasize everything he was trying to say so she could hopefully understand.

"But then you're the one that gets made the villain and everyone goes hunting for you! I'm not just going to stay here and let that happen to you, not a chance," Judy argued before Nick rendered her silent by resting his forehead against hers.

"You know that's no change for me, Carrots. You know too well I've been on the hit list of more than a few mammals in my time, and I've pulled through those just fine. As far as I'd be concerned…this would be just like the good old days. Besides, I know this city better than most, even the biggest angry mob would need a miracle to be able to catch me," Nick went on, unable to hide the desperation in his voice that she would just accept this fact and let him walk out that door while he still had it in him to do so. Curse that dumb, beautiful little bunny for being so emotional, it was always able to wear down his emotional defenses way too quickly.

"Nick…please…please don't do this. You're my partner, through and through. If you're resigning, then I'm resigning with you," Judy pleaded before finally taking a deep breath and steeling herself, one little paw reaching for the badge pinned to her chest before Nick suddenly grabbed it.

"No! Don't say that, Carrots. I'm doing this to save your hide, don't make that all be for nothing," Nick argued as Judy looked at him like he'd completely lost it.

"Are you kidding me? After everything we've done, everything we've gone through, you expect me to just keep doing this without you as my partner? Forget it! The ZPD can either have both of us or neither of us," she protested before Nick finally stopped her the only way he could think to, pulling her into a hug so close she wouldn't be able to move.

"Darn it, Judy, listen to me! Don't you realize this whole mess is my fault? The only reason that stupid picture even exists is cause I forced you to pull over cause of my constant worrying and what-ifs! I'm the reason you're in this boat, now let me just do this one thing to help get you out of it! Let me have the chance to at least fix this mess for one of us, the one that really deserves it," Nick pleaded into her ear as Judy's squirming slowly but surely settled down; her grunts of struggle quickly subsided into tears as she buried her face into the fur of his neck.

"Don't…don't ask me to do this, Nick. Don't make me have to act like I'm happy you're not there with me in front of all those people. I can't. I can't live thinking that you could get cornered by some violent mob every day and I won't be able to help you," she muttered weakly as her paws clung to his uniform for dear life.

"You won't have to worry about me, Carrots. I could look after myself even before I met you, now I'll be capable of doing so even better now. And I promise you I'll be at home with you every night safe and sound, not a strand of fur out of place. So please, just hang onto that, do what you were meant to do out there…for me," Nick said in an attempt to reassure the trembling little cottontail; while trying his best to swallow down the emotional sobs rising up in his throat the more he spoke. What he would've given to just tell her how much this was killing him as well, but if he were to back down now, the best chance Judy would ever have to continue living her life in relative peace would be gone forever.

"It's not right though, Nick. We were supposed to go out there as partners for years to come. It wasn't supposed to end like this, not so soon. I don't know if I can go out there working solo again. I even said so last year, remember?" Judy continued to lament as Nick started gently running his paw down her folded ears to try and comfort her.

"Well you're going to have to try to, Judy. You worked your entire life to get here, remember? You already threw it away once for guilt. Please…please, don't throw it away again for my behalf. Don't make me your reason for throwing your childhood dream away, don't put that on me, please," Nick was now pleading softly to her as Judy continued to uncontrollably sniffle and cry. By this point, even Chief Bogo had taken the liberty of turning the back of his chair to them so he could look out at the city skyline outside; trying his best to keep his usual stoic expression. As seriously as he took his duty, it always pained him to have to discipline his officers so severely, and to listen to these two now, to hear the sheer emotion in the way they were now speaking to each other, it was the clearest proof he could've ever asked for to see just how real the love these two had was. And to know he had to destroy it like this left him with a cold churning sensation deep in his gut.

"Alright, Judy…I want you to promise me you'll stay here, and you'll do everything you can to finish this case and bring our little firebug down, okay?" Nick finally managed to compose himself enough to look his precious bunny in the eye as he asked her of this. Her eyes were still clearly wet with fresh tears, but she'd at least managed to catch her breath enough to swallow her sobs down and return her partners' gaze as she reluctantly nodded in acceptance.

"I promise. And please, please promise me you'll be safe. That's all I can ask of you, Nick," she asked in return as a trace of that usual confident yet sly smile slowly spread across Nick's muzzle as he slowly traced a thumb under one of her eyes to wipe away another tear.

"Survival, right, Carrots? It's what we mammals are programmed for…but I promise," he tried to brush off her concern with a joke, but even he couldn't keep it up before finally answering straight out, to which that adorable smile of hers thankfully started to return in response.

Figuring there was no point in even trying to hide it at this point, Judy quickly got onto her tip toes and planted one lingering kiss to Nick's snout, which he'd thankfully anticipated as he immediately returned in kind; the two of them holding on tight to each other as they let the contact linger, as if they both feared this would be the last time they'd ever be able to share this kind of bliss again. And when they finally parted lips after a whole minute, it still felt far too short for them.

"Alright, Judy…now I-I'm going to go…a-and I'm not going to look back…but n-not because I don't want to," Nick finally said; sucking in air through his fangs to steel his nerves as he got back onto his feet and quickly turned for the door; and just like he said, he never turned back until he was out of Judy's sight, and the door to Chief Bogo's office shut with a resounding click. But what she never knew was that as soon as the door had shut, Nick had paused mid-stride when he was halfway down the hall; having to fight back every screaming instinct in his body to turn back. And it was after only a few seconds he'd managed to will himself to keep going.

Once the door had shut, Judy had finally felt all the strength leave her legs as she collapsed against the leg of the chair; sliding down to the floor and breaking down into yet more devastated sobs. Yes, she'd promised to Nick she was going to do her best to continue carrying out her duties like always, but darn it she needed to mourn no matter what anyone else were to say.

She pulled her knees to her face to try and stifle her sobbing from the outside as Chief Bogo reluctantly got up from his rounded the desk; reaching a hoof out to try and offer some kind of condolence, but in the end, even the normally gruff ZPD chief realized she needed to be alone now of all times. If she and Nick could only know how much he wished there could've been another way, some way to make all this madness just disappear and let things continue on as they had been. But alas, life wasn't that simple. The world wasn't that kind…or merciful. He couldn't deny Nick's last minute plan to at least help Judy save face and hopefully calm some of the tensions had serious merit, and it definitely sounded like it could work. And it was only the hope that it would indeed work that drove Bogo out his office door in that moment.

"Take as much time as you need, Hopps. I need to go and…inform the press of the announcement," Bogo said sympathetically before he finally closed the door; leaving the despairing Judith Hopps to her emotions and thoughts.

Even as naturally emotional as she was, Judy didn't even think it was possible for any mammal to survive feeling as utterly devastated as she did right now. And even despite her promise to Nick; deep inside she couldn't help but scold herself for giving in and letting him walk out that door so easily. And yet no matter how much she wanted to bolt out and go after him and force him to let her resign alongside him if she had to, any semblance of strength she once had was nowhere to be found. This had to be the most utterly helpless and distraught she'd ever felt. And knowing the sheer feeling of failure and guilt she'd dealt with before, that was seriously saying something.

The sadness she felt like she was drowning in was so immense, she likely never would've realized her cellphone was now ringing if she hadn't felt the vibration of it in her uniform's pocket. At this point not even wanting to wonder how this could possibly be worse, she reluctantly pulled it out and swiped the screen to see she'd received a single text message. And almost as if fate was trying to prove what a sick sense of irony it had, what she saw managed to somehow make her feel even worse: the fact that the field for sender simply read 'MOM & DAD'.

With her heart once again racing with fearful anticipation, Judy hesitated to actually press her thumb against the screen before the message finally opened.

' _Honey, we just saw the news. We need to talk to you ASAP, but face to face.'_

 **ZPD Locker Room**

By some strange form of merciful providence, Nick's despairing walk away from his beloved partner hadn't been made worse by the jeering comments of hate and derision from those he was supposed to call his comrades. Whether they simply figured Bogo had already canned him or they wanted to let him stew in his own misery, the fox honestly didn't care. He wasn't going to let any of the emotions raging inside him out until he was well outside the ZPD headquarters and far away from any prying eyes and ears. Right now, all he could focus on was leaving his uniform in what was once his personal locker and getting back into his typical casual wear of a tacky lime green Hawaiian-style shirt, striped necktie and tan slacks. If the circumstances had been even the slightest bit more pleasant, he'd almost want to call the feeling of getting back into his old street getup nostalgic.

For the longest time once he was all done, he could only look at his uniform hanging on the hook with a twisting sensation of disappointment. That uniform represented to him so many of the best recent memories he could've ever had. It always served as a reminder of just how far he'd gotten from where he once was, and just who he had to thank every waking moment for helping him get there. But now…now he could only look at it and feel nothing but distaste towards himself. The words he'd told Judy kept echoing in his head, how it was the fears he felt from the stresses of the job that drove her to pull over and do what she did to calm him, and that was what landed them in this disaster in the first place. If he'd only managed to keep those emotions in check like he'd forced himself to for so long before, maybe none of this would've happened. But what good did obsessing over the past do anyone? From old and recent experiences, he knew all too well it did none.

When he finally got around to closing his locker for the last time, he nearly jumped straight into the ceiling to find Benjamin Clawhauser once again standing in rapt attention, but the fox could easily see the unmistakable sadness on the cheetah's face. It almost made him want to guess if the chief had told him what happened.

"Chief Bogo already told me what you're doing, Wilde. While he agrees with your reason for doing so, he still doesn't want to just let you go out there by yourself with the public feeling the way they do. So he's assigned me to at least watch after you and take you wherever you might want to go," Clawhauser proceeded to explain; earning a single nod of understanding from the morose fox.

"My own personal ZPD escort; I'm honored. Well, thankfully you won't have to put up with me for too long. I already have an idea where to go," Nick replied, the sadness in his voice slowly giving way to something much more serious sounding.

"Of course, just name it, Wilde," Clawhauser offered before the fox suddenly shot a gaze at him that one could only describe once more as…determined.

"Take me to City Hall."

 **1/17/2017 Update: Alright everyone, at long, long last, you can finally put your worries to rest. I'm not giving up on this story, not by a long shot. It's been a very hard four months since I last updated, for many reasons that I previously detailed in the last author's update I put at the top of this chapter.**

 **I deeply apologize for the immense amount of raw feels this chapter may no doubt give you. I know there's little to no comfort provided for our precious heroes in this installment, but you see, there's a very personal reason for that, which is also the primary reason this story has gone without updating for so long.**

 **For the past four months, I've had to watch my cousin slowly deteriorate in the hospital, practically in a coma. This is someone who even despite our considerable age difference, I looked up to like the big brother I never had. And only recently, I've had to cope with the knowledge that despite all my family's support and prayers, he's not going to make it. Honestly, at the time I'm writing this notice, I'm preparing to hear he slipped away in the night. And even now, it's so hard to accept that this is happening.**

 **We try to prepare ourselves for these things, for when people we hold dear are beyond helping, but no matter how much we try to convince ourselves that we can handle it, once it actually happens, all that courage, all that bravado goes right out the window. I've been having to wrap my head around the fact that soon I'll never be able to see him again, and that he'll be leaving his wife and three daughters behind, and there's nothing I can be able to do to make any of this better for anyone. It's really the feeling of helplessness, of powerlessness that's the worst.**

 **I don't mean to bore you all with my personal problems. I just strongly felt that you all deserved to know why I've been gone for so long. I'm still coping with this inevitable loss with as much strength as I possibly can, but it's so hard. But I'm going to try and persevere and keep up my responsibility to you all and to this story better than I have been recently.**

 **Thank you all for your continuous support…I love you all.**


	8. Help in Unexpected Places

**Hello once again, everyone. Hopefully you'll all be reading this a lot sooner than you did having to wait for Chapter 7. In spite of all my personal tragedies I've been having to deal with these last few months, it does my heart real good to know you all were still there to give me your support. I have to admit, after putting up Chapter 7 at long last, it was hard to will myself to continue working, as literally not even three hours after I'd posted it, my cousin sadly passed away in the night. Almost makes me want to think god has a really twisted sense of irony, or perhaps an even more twisted sense of humor.**

 **But nevertheless, I should remind myself to be at least grateful he isn't suffering any longer. I may have to remind myself of that a lot in these coming weeks.**

 **Regardless, that's not what we're here for right now. We're here because this story is one of the few things that truly keeps me going, and you all deserve the best for having stuck with me for all this time. So hopefully this chapter will live up to your expectations.**

 **Zootopia and its characters are the property of Disney, not me.**

In the beginning, Nick, for all his determination and his bravado, had been more than a bit nervous about setting foot in City Hall so soon since the news had gotten out. But it didn't matter how nervous he had been to try showing his face out in the open; just because he'd gone out of his way to at least partially clear Judy's name at his own expense didn't mean he was just going to leave all the responsibility of solving their arson case on her shoulders. They'd already gotten this far working together, what kind of partner…or rather ex-partner, would he have been if he'd just went on with his life and acted like it didn't involve him anymore? The more he dwelt on it, the more the little voice in his head simply chalked it up to unbreakable old habits. Even when his dumb bunny wasn't there, he still felt the need to be constantly looking out for her.

And now here he was, looking out at the pristine Zootopia City Hall from the backseat of a ZPD cruiser, with no one but Benjamin Clawhauser at his side like a temporary sidekick. At first, Nick for once wouldn't have been ashamed to say he felt scared out of his wits to show his face in there without Judy to back him up. But at least the last minute bonus of a baseball cap and some sunglasses that'd been stored in the glove compartment by whoever had last officially driven this cruiser gave him the slight comfort that most mammals wouldn't recognize him unless they actually cared to really pay attention. He remembered the majority of photos with him in it had him in his ZPD uniform; so at least he knew everyone would pretty much just assume him to be any average fox.

"You know you don't have to go in there by yourself, Wilde. If you really just want to look someone up in the public records, maybe having me there could help you get in. I mean, you have to admit someone might find it weird a normal citizen wants to look someone up out of the blue," Clawhauser offered once he saw Nick was psyching himself up to step out of the car and into the open. Thankfully they'd taken the liberty of parking out of public view. The majority of citizens might not have been the brightest, but surely anyone with a computer or a TV would be able to put two and two together upon seeing a fox step out of a ZPD vehicle.

"When mammals go visiting foreign countries, it stands to reason quite a few might want to look up historical records to try and trace back their families, right? It's pretty much the same thing. Besides, incognito's the name of the game, remember? No offense, Benny, but you're kinda hard to miss in a crowd, and we don't want everyone to figure out who I am just yet," Nick explained, and while Clawhauser did look noticeably disappointed, he couldn't deny the fox's point.

"Okay, Wilde. Take as much time as you need. I'll be ready to go when you are," Clawhauser accepted as Nick was halfway out the door.

"C'mon, Ben, I'm resigned, remember? You can just call me Nick if you want. And…thank you for this, seriously," Nick tried to brush off the formalities with his trademark smirk before finally closing the door and swiftly making his way out the alley and into the main city square; Clawhauser watching the fox carefully before he quickly disappeared within the throngs of numerous passersby on their way to work. Once he was out of sight, the portly cheetah leaned back into his seat and turned on the car radio just in time to hear a news announcer describe an upcoming press conference from Chief Bogo that was going to take place in 8 hours. After what the chief had informed him was going on, the official announcement just made the predators' fur bristle with discomfort. He couldn't even begin to imagine how poor Judy was taking it, wherever she might have been.

 **Zootopia City Hall**

As much as being within what was essentially the heart of Zootopia still left Nick feeling more than a bit overwhelmed and even intimidated, it was still a lot better than being out on the streets. Their entire world may have been evolved far from what it was thousands of years ago, but the fox still wouldn't have put it past some mammals to let their no doubt simmering disgust and anger take the reins over their better judgment if they were to recognize him. Heck, that thought alone made Nick more than a little fearful of just what he might run into out there once the chief would make his official announcement of his false guilt and essentially start a city-wide fox hunt. But the former ZPD officer knew now wasn't the time to worry about that. Badge or no badge, he still had a responsibility to follow through on.

Thankfully nobody seemed to pay him any mind as he made his way towards the public records office. For a second he couldn't help but silently express gratitude City Hall didn't choose to combine the city records with that of the actual populace, otherwise he probably would've had to go sifting through the ruins after his little mishap last night.

However, before he could continue to silently express gratitude for small favors, he quickly found himself colliding with a taller mammal just rounding the corner; sending them both crashing to the ground. Thankfully the fox's quick reflexes kicked in as he swiftly got his hat and glasses back on before any passing mammals could've recognized him, but before he could get back on his feet, he was looking at a very familiar bespectacled antelope getting back on her feet as well.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir; I really should pay more attention to where I'm—oh my goodness, Officer Wil-?" Sherry Bullba was already starting to apologize before her already magnified eyes grew wider upon recognizing the partially disguised fox, at least before his tail practically bushed out in panic and he swiftly shushed her and hastily ushered her back behind the corner and out of the open.

"Officer Wilde, what are you doing here? Where's Officer Hopps? Oh, is all that stuff the news is saying about the two of you true?" Sherry quickly started asking in a hushed whisper once the two of them had hastily stuffed themselves into a broom closet and Nick didn't look like he was about to have a heart attack anymore.

"One question at a time, please, Sherry. I understand you want answers, but I'd really prefer nobody else actually know I'm here right now," Nick tried to explain as he kept his eye focused on the tiny keyhole, as if he could just feel like someone was right outside the door to try and listen in. _'So much for that temporary confidence'_ , was a thought that prominently came to mind.

"Oh, of course. Are you undercover? Wait, no, first, is all that stuff about you two everyone's talking about true?" Sherry nodded enthusiastically before just as quickly backtracking. Even when being stuck with what would quickly become the most detested individual in Zootopia, she couldn't hide that fangirlish energy to save her life. If anything, it was the most unexpected breath of fresh air Nick could've asked for. Certainly didn't make answering THAT question any easier though.

"*sigh* It wouldn't really make much sense for me to lie about it now, would it? I can't blame you for whatever you might feel later, but…yes, it is," the fox very hesitantly admitted; every muscle in his body tightening as if just bracing himself for the antelope to unleash all the wrath she could conjure on him.

"Wow…oh, wow. I mean, looking at all the pictures of you two together and reading all the stories about all the crimes and other work you've both worked together to do, I honestly thought that might've been maybe…possibly been going on. But I never actually stopped to think it was actually possible," the young antelope said mostly to herself; unable to help sounding like a classic fangirl who'd just realized her secret desire actually being made real; so caught up in her thoughts she couldn't even notice the astonished look on Nick's face.

"Wait, you mean…you're not angry?" Nick felt the need to ask; while Sherry looked equally as surprised by the question.

"No. Why would I be angry?" the antelope asked as if it were the most sensible thing in the world for her to react like she did.

"What? Well, I-I mean, haven't you seen the news? Have you seen or heard how pretty much everyone out there is reacting compared to you?" Nick explained as if he were speaking to a crazy person.

"Well, Daddy always has me on the move to help him whichever way I can with his work, so I never really have time to watch the news or read the papers online. But regardless, it's not like you two are hurting other mammals doing what you're doing. Why everyone else is getting so mad about what two other mammals do on their own time is beyond me, honestly," Sherry admitted, and all at once did it seem like Nick's inner fuse had been extinguished as he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"I wish I could tell you how good it feels to know that's how you feel, kid. Seriously. The way pretty much everyone at the ZPD is reacting, I was starting to think Carrots and I were all out of friends for life," the fox explained regretfully.

"Is that why Officer Hopps isn't here with you?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah. It's not a long story, but it's a pretty…painful one. All you need to know is I'm not a ZPD officer anymore, for her sake," Nick summed it all up while Sherry's usually enthusiastic face quickly sank into one of deep sympathy.

"It's actually kinda funny running into you here. Part of me was really considering speaking to your dad, see about him setting up some kind of announcement, something to just tell everyone to cool it and focus on more important things," he continued on; a pitiful semi-smirk spreading on his muzzle as if to show just how pointless he knew such a thing would've been.

"Well, I can understand why. Unfortunately Daddy isn't here, and I honestly don't know when he'll be back. He looked really worried this morning and I'm pretty sure it's because of the people giving his campaign money," Sherry reluctantly admitted.

"Yeah, Chief Bogo said something similar right before I resigned. Apparently since he was advocating the ZPD so much, now that this whole mess with me and Carrots is out in the daylight, he's trying to convince these bigwigs not to pull out of supporting him," Nick instantly remembered while Sherry began instinctively nodding in confirmation.

"Even if he was here, I don't think talking to him would do any good, Mr. Wilde. Daddy's open-minded, believe me he is, but not completely. I can't say he'd agree with what you're doing. But I know he still has a lot of respect for what you and Officer Hopps have done for this city, so I'm sure if he were to win this election, then maybe he'd be able to do something to at least make things less difficult for you both, but as of right now, no such luck. I really wish there was something I could do to help," Sherry regretfully explained; her voice progressively cracking with sadness before her ears suddenly perked at the sound of Nick instinctively snapping his fingers in realization.

"Maybe there is. Come on," the fox said with an unexpected amount of optimism as he suddenly grabbed Sherry's hoof and made his way out of the broom closet and down the hall, following the directions written on the walls while she struggled to stay in step.

"Where are we going, Mr. Wilde? What is it?" she asked just before they rounded another corner and Nick skidded to a stop in front of the door labeled 'public records.'

"You and your dad might not be able to help with this interspecies hoopla right now, but is there a way you can get me into the public records?" he asked while the antelope just looked at him confusedly.

"Well, I could, but you know you don't really need my help for that. When foreigners come to Zootopia, they can just come and go as they please to look up possible relatives or ancestries here. Heck, you don't even need to look over all the shelves, they've already got a computer set up for that anyway," she explained while Nick just started nodding his head hurriedly as though to speed her along.

"Yeah, I kinda realized that, said something similar not too long ago, but that's beside the point. I may not be a cop anymore, but I still want to try and help Carrots with that arson case the best I can. We actually came up with a halfway decent lead right before this all happened, but I just need to know where the mammal she should speak to is o she can take over from there, and, well…I'm not exactly the tech wizard kind," Nick proceeded to explain before Sherry began to smile in appreciation for the sentiment he was clearly doing this under.

"Okay, then let's find yours and Officer Hopps' new lead," she accepted before the two quickly stepped inside.

Just as Nick had suspected and dreaded, the public records were just as massive as the official city records, minus the no doubt biblical amounts of destruction still left over from last night. Just as Sherry had said, mounted on a nearby wall was a modest looking computer she was already hard at work with as the fox instinctively peeked through the door to make sure no one was coming.

"So what exactly are we looking for, Mr. Wilde?" Sherry asked over her shoulder; prompting Nick to hurry to her side.

"Well, we were looking up this old case the chief, Mr. Bullba and yo—er, his old ZFD team worked on going after this arsonist named Leonard Pantera, and when looking him up, he apparently was once interred at Cliffside before it was shut down, and we wanted to look up the mammal who served as his primary psychiatrist, Angela Ramsbury," Nick hastily explained while Sherry immediately got to work; the luminescent screen reflecting off her glasses as she typed away like a machine.

"You seem to know your way around this stuff pretty naturally," Nick couldn't help but say with an impressed whistle as he saw her slowly but surely whittle her way through the system.

"I've always had a way with technology like this. Of course, I really owe my familiarity with these kinds in particular to my dad," Sherry explained.

"Wow, I didn't think Mr. Bullba would be the kind of mammal who'd have time in his day to teach you that kind of thing," the fox once again expressed with mild surprise. Once the words left his mouth, he noticed Sherry suddenly stop, and all at once did it become too clear to him. She was referring to her biological father; causing the now remorseful fox's ears to fold. But just as quickly as she'd stopped, she just as quickly got right back into the groove of it as her hooves were once again typing away.

"There we go, found her. Angela Ramsbury, former psychiatric consultant at Cliffside Sanitarium, age 68, currently a resident at Angel Hills. It's a retirement home and senior care center in the northeastern part of the Rainforest District," Sherry suddenly said triumphantly before Nick already started making a beeline for the door.

"Perfect, that's everything I needed. Thanks for all the help, Sherry," he called back to her while she quickly stepped out after him.

"Wait! Take this with you, just in case you or Officer Hopps ever need my help again. I'll do whatever I can for you guys," she called out, forcing him to hastily return as she quickly scribbled down a phone number on a small piece of paper before hastily forcing it into his chest pocket. Not wanting to waste any more time with words, he gave her a grateful paw-shake before hastily making his way out of City Hall while still remembering to keep his hat pulled low over his face when passing by other mammals.

Once back out in the city square, he swiftly made his way through the throngs of other mammals before quickly and carefully making his way back into the ZPD cruiser, with Clawhauser fortunately still loyally at the wheel.

"Glad to see all of you is still in one piece, Ben. For a second I was starting to worry someone might've seen the car and decided to give you trouble," Nick expressed his relief before slinking back down and out of window view.

"Incognito's the name of the game, remember? Anyone who would've wanted to go down this alley in broad daylight would probably have been doing something they shouldn't have to begin with, because there was one or two that turned right around as soon as they saw me here. So did you find what you were looking for in there?" Clawhauser asked before turning the engine back on and slowly backing out into another thankfully empty street.

"Thankfully yes. I just need to text it to Carrots so she can follow up. Then I'll see if I can think of somewhere you can drop me off. I can't expect you to chauffeur me around all day for nothing," Nick explained while pulling out his cellphone.

"Please, Nick, don't say stuff like that. You, Hopps and I, we're friends, remember? No way am I gonna complain about keeping you safe from any angry mobs out there, no matter how long I may have to do so," the cheetah reassured him with surprising confidence in his words; but by now Nick was already busy typing away at his phone, not wanting to potentially catch Judy at a bad time with an actual call.

'Hey, dumb bunny. Is this a bad time? Are you feeling better at all?'

Almost the instant his thumb left the screen, the familiar reply jingle sounded out; usually a good sign.

' _Are you seriously asking that after this morning? Where are you? Are you safe?'_

As much as he would've greatly preferred to be speaking to her face to face for this, he just swallowed the desire and figured he had to take even the bitter wit behind her response for what it was worth as he typed away.

'Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry. Looks like Chief Buffalo Butt asked Clawhauser to look after me for now. Be sure to kiss the big softie for me next time. Anyway, I swung by City Hall, in disguise of course, and I've got…well, two bits of good news.'

' _What?'_

'Well, one, I ran into Sherry Bullba, but no Victor. But she at least said that she supports us, so that's one more mammal you can add that's on our side, two more than I'd expected. But more importantly, I followed up on that Angela Ramsbury we were gonna talk to, and I found out where she is: some senior care center/retirement home in the Rainforest District called Angel Hills. I figured you'd know what to do from there. Guess old habits can't really end with taking off a badge, huh?'

' _Why would you do that knowing what's going on out there?'_

'Do you seriously have to ask? I know you're not THAT ignorant, Carrots. I just thought maybe giving you something to work with would at least partially get your mind off of…well, you know. I'm gonna try and find some place discreet for Clawhauser to drop me off while you get back into ZPD mode, Officer Hopps. Assuming things go smoothly, I'll see you home tonight.'

' _Nick, I'm not gonna be able to do that. I don't even know if I'll make it home tonight.'_

'Why? Are the mobs forming in front of the station already?'

' _I'd hope not, but no. I'm not even in Zootopia right now.'_

'What? Where are you?'

' _On my way to Bunnyburrow. Nick…my parents saw the news and wanted to talk to me face to face. I don't even know what to expect once I get home. Can you believe that? I don't even know what to expect from my own parents. God, you have no idea how much I wish you were here right now, Nick.'_

'Me too, Carrots. But we have to try and hope for the best. If your folks are anywhere near as decent mammals as the ones I met, they'll still welcome their own daughter with open arms at least.'

' _I want to believe that, Nick. But they've always been very…traditional. Something like this has probably never even once crossed their minds, so it's anybody's guess right now.'_

'If this has you that scared, then why did you bother heading back to begin with?'

' _If I wasn't here, then I'd be a nervous wreck back at the station, either worrying about you or just waiting for the next "comrade" to give me a verbal lashing for being with you. All things considered, at least the train ride here gives me a little time to collect my thoughts.'_

'I'm guessing the chief chauffeured you there himself?'

' _Not exactly. I figured everyone at the train station would put two and two together if they saw a bunny in street clothes coming out of a ZPD car, so I asked him to just drive me to our apartment and I went on foot from there after changing.'_

'Wow. I wish you could've told me you were a mind reader earlier, Carrots. That's exactly what I'd thought of when Clawhauser took me to City Hall.'

' _Heh, I guess it really is true what they say about great minds.'_

'You know I'm gonna be holding onto that message the next time you call me "dumb fox", right?'

' _I wouldn't expect any less. Honestly, to hear you making cracks like that is exactly what I needed right now.'_

'Happy to be of service as always, Officer Hopps.'

' _The train's almost at Bunnyburrow right now. I need some time to psyche myself up for mom and dad. I promise I'll call you as soon as I get the chance afterwards. Please stay safe for me, Nick.'_

'Always have, always will, Fluff. Keeping my fingers crossed…I love you.'

' _And I love you too, dumb fox.'_

Nick couldn't help but let out a semi-amused chuckle at Judy's choice of a goodbye before finally tucking his phone away and realizing Clawhauser was watching him intently through the rearview mirror.

"Okay, slight change of plans, Benny. You ever heard of a place called Angel Hills?" he quickly brushed off any sense of awkwardness and getting straight to business, only for Clawhauser to immediately hit the gas and send them on their way, almost as if on reflex.

"Sure have; I used to visit my grandma there a lot before she passed. It's a pretty long drive from here, it's near the top of the tallest mountain in the district, but I can get us there no problem," Clawhauser announced enthusiastically as he quickly turned the cruiser onto the nearest on-ramp headed straight for the Rainforest District.

 **Bunnyburrow**

In the time that had passed between receiving the message from her parents and Chief Bogo's return from announcing the upcoming press conference, Judy had felt completely and utterly numb. The seemingly inconceivable sadness she'd just been drowning in had somehow found a way to not only fade, but to turn into a kind of anger that sweltered deep within the pit of her stomach the likes of which she could never recall feeling before. This wasn't like all the numerous periods of textbook anger or frustration she'd felt, this was something…much worse, a kind of bitterness that reached out to everything she could think of.

She was angry at Nick; how dare he go and force all of the guilt onto his shoulders and ultimately leave her blameless in the eyes of the public? How dare he leave her all alone in the ZPD like this? How dare he tell her not to throw her badge aside and go out there into the fray with him like she knew she should've?

She was angry at herself; how dare she not try harder than she did to convince Nick to let her resign alongside him? How dare she not go out there after him and drag him back where she knew she could at least be there to protect him?

But most of all, what Judy felt the angriest at was the world itself. It just never stopped with its one step forward two step backward routine. Every time she thought things were finally going to change for the better, the world just had to go and prove her wrong. She decided she wanted to be a cop? Nobody believes in her, not even her own family. She finally makes it into the ZPD? No one takes her seriously, and she's conned and discouraged on her very first day. Solves her very first case? Nearly tears the city apart with fear. For the first time in her life feels true love for another mammal? The whole world cries out about how wrong and disgusting it is, driving her beloved partner and best friend away.

But no matter how much these painful memories kept circling around in her head, the one thing the little bunny's silent heartbreak and anger always returned to was the citizens. What right did they have? All her life, Judy worked herself to the bone to prove she belonged here with the biggest and toughest mammals out there. She couldn't even begin to count how many late or sleepless nights she'd spend studying everything there was to know to succeed and operate efficiently in the field in the ZPD. She'd jumped numerous evolutionary milestones to get here, all for the sake of protecting the populace, of making everyone's world a better place one day at a time. She and Nick together had put their lives on the line countless times for no gain of their own, but to simply help the people, because they both knew it was the right thing to do. To be able to stand proud with that knowledge while discovering and accepting the love they felt deep down for each other just made that all-encompassing sense of accomplishment and contentment that much sweeter.

So then what gave these people the right, the sheer gall to feel like they could say what was right and what was wrong with what two individual mammals do with their own lives? What made them think they had the authority to declare that someone's love for another was disgusting and immoral and should be condemned just because they personally thought so? After everything she and Nick had put on the line to protect those mammals every single day, those same mammals were now going to ridicule and shame them and tell them how to live their lives; tell them who they should or shouldn't be in love with? They would deny two mammals that had saved their very city the right to be happy out of some selfish sense of self-righteousness? They would destroy the happiness of her and her precious partner, even though their love literally did NONODY else any harm?

If that was how the citizens would ultimately thank the two of them for their unbending loyalty to upholding the law and selflessly protecting the families of Zootopia…then why was she even still here? It took the boundless optimism and imagination of a child to make Judy Hopps realize what it was she wanted to do with her life, but it took the long-delayed mental and emotional growth to adulthood and the intervention of a single sly con artist of a fox to help her realize just WHO she wanted to spend that life with. And now, with the entire city and their own colleagues, mammals they thought they could call 'friend', turning their backs on them just for the fact they loved each other and were different species…resentment for this monumental betrayal was all the single bunny could feel deep within her chest. If they would deny her the opportunity to live her dream life with the fox she loved out of their own bias, then why should she be forced to continue serving and protecting them with this god-forsaken badge?

So badly did she want to just tear that badge away and throw it in the trash and leave right then and there. But every time her little paw began to reach for it, the last words Nick had said to her kept coming back. How he didn't want to be the reason for her to throw the last 17 years of her life away, and how he didn't want to keep putting her in danger by being continuously around her on the streets. And every single time, Judy had to swallow another choking sob as her simmering anger continued to die down.

Curse that darn fox for burrowing his way into her heart like he did. It didn't matter how angry she was at the world anymore. Nick would never forgive her for making his own self-sacrifice for nothing if she quit now. And she felt certain she wouldn't be able to forgive herself for betraying his hard-earned trust like that either.

When all was said and done, at the end of it all, perhaps Chief Bogo had also been thinking about what must've been going through Judy's head while he was out getting the hardest press conference he'd ever have to hold ready. That was the only option that made any sense, that he must've deep down shared the same kind of bitterness and anger that the little bunny felt at this cruel hand that fate had decided to deal her. Why else would he have almost immediately given her permission to leave for Bunnyburrow to confront her family immediately after she'd mentioned the message she received?

Whether it was out of sympathy for her and Nick's struggle, or if he was simply doing it for her own emotional well-being; or perhaps out of a need to protect the public lest she ultimately snap on some poor soul while out on duty, it didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was that she was out of the ZPD and now on the first train to Bunnyburrow, finally left with the less suffocating silence to calm her nerves, more or less, and the time to get her thoughts and emotions in order; again, more or less.

As nervous, if not utterly terrified, as what was most likely awaiting back home made her feel, Judy could at least rest a little easier to know that Nick was indeed safe and being looked out for. Who would've guessed that her now former partner would still go so out of his way to try and make her job even just the tiniest bit easier for when she was ready to get back to it? Oh, if only he knew just how badly she wished she could be there at this moment to hold and kiss him and thank him and promise that they would never be apart again.

But that kind of wishful thinking didn't make any difference now. He was back in Zootopia, and she was here; instinctively cringing at the sound of the train's horn sounding, followed by the conductor's announcement of their arrival in Bunnyburrow. She had to practically will her heart to stop trying to escape out her chest as she reluctantly got up from her seat and headed for the doors. There was no turning back anymore. She could eventually learn to accept the resentment, even the disgust, of her coworkers, but not her family. If she didn't face this challenge above all else now, her entire life would finish falling into shambles.

And even in spite of the faintest little voice in her head hoping that her parents wouldn't be waiting for her at the platform so she could at least have that little extra time walking home on foot to calm herself down; there were Stu and Bonnie Hopps, side by side on the platform and watching with intent as the doors finally slid open, and Judy was almost unwillingly forced outside by the flux of other mammals departing alongside her.

Once the hustle had passed and the train had left once again, the poor grey bunny now found herself alone, face to face with her parents, their expressions almost unreadable.

It wasn't until they had both finally stepped forward and welcomed Judy into their arms in a warm, comforting hug that she'd finally let out an anxious breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding. Deep down, she'd been unknowingly bracing herself for all the derision, the disappointment and scorn they could possibly muster, even to the point she was waiting for them to just flat out say she wasn't their daughter anymore. It was barely even noon at this point and already all this anxiety and stress had built up to this point. To the point that just the silent act of being embraced by her parents was enough to start bringing tears back to her eyes, but this time of relief.

"Welcome back, Jude the Dude. I can't believe it's already been this long," Stu finally spoke up as he and Bonnie let Judy go while keeping their paws on their daughters' shoulders.

"I know; I'm sorry. I'd been hoping I'd be able to make it down here more often for you guys," Judy answered while hastily wiping the tears away.

"Well, the important thing is you're here now, sweetheart. Now come on, let's go home," Bonnie said as she and her husband began to usher Judy into the train station.

"B-But I thought you wanted us to talk about—" Judy began to say before Stu quickly shushed her as they made their way through the tiny building and out to the parking lot towards their familiar old battered blue pickup.

"We do, Judy, but not here. Let's wait until we get home, okay?" Bonnie explained in a hush as they all three climbed in and were soon on their way down the familiar stretching country roads of Bunnyburrow.

The entire trip, while mercifully short, had become uncomfortably quiet now that Judy had tried to mention the real reason she came. The discomfort was certainly mutual among her parents as more than once one of them tried to spark some kind of conversation, only to fall silent once again. And before they knew it, they were parked safe and sound in front of the Hopps family home. But the once nostalgic and peaceful country silence Judy had come to love on her sparse visits now had an all too noticeable foreboding to it. For all she knew, Stu and Bonnie had only been keeping a pleasant demeanor up as a cover for when they were in public, and once the door would be closed, the yelling would start. But just like she always knew every time her mind began to wander, it was too late to turn back now.

Once inside, Bonnie wasted no time ushering Judy down the hall towards the almost colossal family room. What she'd always known to be a place filled to the brim with her hundreds of little brothers and sisters was now completely empty for probably the first time in her life, save for the three of them. That and the uncharacteristic silence that hung in the air was almost frightening, it was so unfamiliar. There wasn't the sound of any running footsteps or any children's laughter to be heard at all. Part of Judy wanted to assume they'd been sent out to the crops, since it was just about getting to be that time of year; but another part of her realized her parents must've sent them off to one of the neighbors' farms so they could have the privacy needed for this talk.

With a deep breath, she sat herself down while Bonnie and Stu both took single chairs of their own, set up almost in a circle. The tension in the air was nigh unbearable as she could tell from the worried glances her parents kept shooting each other that they too were struggling to decide who should finally start.

"So…so how have you guys been?" were the first words to absentmindedly escape Judy's lips; effectively breaking the silence as her parents both looked to be struggling for the words.

"Oh, you know, things don't really change all that much around here. The kids are really starting to come into their own. Good number of them are starting to talk about moving out, seeing the world and all that. Rest have really taken to the carrot farming lately. Really does our hearts good, you know? I mean, we're not getting any younger," Stu answered as casually as he could, if for no other reason than to at least ease some of the anxiety.

"The kids have really been anxious to see you and…Nick again, honey. I swear, it's almost every day at least ten of them ask when Big Sis Judy and Uncle Nick are going to visit again," Bonnie piped in, and just as Judy had feared, the mention of her partners' name left a whole new tension in the air she could practically physically feel.

"Okay…when did you guys read the news?" Judy finally asked the dreaded question; her paws instinctively clutching her pant legs in preparation for the storm.

"We didn't read it. This morning we got a call from Gideon's mother who'd seen it all on the TV. Betty sounded utterly astounded, but we didn't know if we should've believed it or not…until we saw it ourselves," Bonnie admitted; the struggle to maintain her emotional calm all too evident in her tone.

"Is that why everyone else isn't here then?" Judy still felt the need to ask while Stu let out a gruff sigh of his own, as though trying to collect his thoughts.

"That's right. We felt a talk like this needed real privacy…and we didn't want the young ones to see the news. We didn't want…we didn't want them to get confused by what they were seeing," Bonnie confessed; her heart twisting with guilt at how her words were making Judy's whole body tense up. She couldn't even recall the last time she'd ever seen her daughter looking so truly scared.

"How long has this been going on, Judy? How long have the two of you been doing this behind our backs?" Stu suddenly asked; his tone likely sounding harsher than the normally big hearted buck had intended.

"Stu, please, there's no need to sound so accusatory about it," Bonnie tried to intervene while Judy had instinctively cringed back in response.

"How are you so calm right now, Bon? Was this another secret of hers that you knew about and just chose not to tell me?" Stu suddenly snapped back at his wife; only realizing his mistake once the words had left his mouth.

"I understand you're upset, Stu, but that's no reason to get short with either of us. Look at Judy; can't you see she's upset enough as it is?" Bonnie instantly retorted; forcing her husband to look and see Judy had already brought her knees to her chest while stifling a few sobs coming up her throat.

"You're right…of course, you're right. I'm sorry Bon. I'm sorry, Judy. I just…I never stopped worrying what would happen to you if you were out on your own in the big city, even if you could look after yourself. It's just…of all the things that could've happened…I never thought THIS would be it," Stu apologized while Judy took a deep breath to try and compose herself.

"About a whole year now," she suddenly spoke of; both her parents snapping to attention as she now sat up straight and bravely looking them both in the eye.

"You want to know how long this has been going on? Almost an entire year," she reiterated, only barely noticing the look in Bonnie's eyes as she was visibly trying to work out the numbers before her ears twitched in realization.

"But that would be…near the end of that road trip you took," she said as if to confirm, to which Stu looked at her in mild confusion and Judy gave a single nod.

"That's right, the very same night I called you from Reynard's Grove actually," she answered, hopeful that they could now actually proceed the rest of the way with some semblance of calm.

"Wait, you're talking about that trip you actually needed to go and borrow the truck for? Judy, I thought you said that whole trip was to track down Nick's old family, not to—" Stu began to say before Judy's focus went directly to him and rendered him silent.

"It was, Dad. That's what it always had been about. But things…a lot of things started coming out between us along the way. Things that…for the longest time, I didn't know how to feel about, or what to do with. Things that…thanks to a lot of people and some serious soul searching, really helped me to learn about myself…about the both of us, actually," Judy proceeded to explain with a surprising air of confidence before turning back to Bonnie.

"I just want both of you to know, this wasn't something that just came overnight, none of that 'bad influence of the city' stuff I can imagine a lot of the older mammals around these parts must fear whenever their kids start talking about heading out to see the world. If we're being absolutely honest with each other right now, I can remember feeling this way for Nick as far back as when we finally solved the Night Howler case almost two years ago. Like I said, it was only when we made that trip that, at the end; I'd finally realized what it really was."

"Like how you first told me the two of you were living together, you said that he made you feel safer and happier than any other mammal you'd met," Bonnie said in realization, once again earning an affirming nod from their daughter.

"That's right. When I called you that night to tell you about what happened to Nick's mom, everything you said was what had finally helped me realize just what it was I needed to do, for both our sakes. The emotions I was feeling around him the entirety of that trip; no, that entire year, had been building up so much; and seeing him so broken that night, on top of what you and some other mammals we'd met along the way had said; made me finally understand the real reason, above everything else I could've ever thought of, why I had and still would go to the ends of the Earth for him. If I couldn't finally admit what I felt for him; to both of us, I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself."

Once Judy had said her piece, it took a good few minutes for her parents to visibly process what they'd just learned.

"I just…wow. Honey, t-this is…I mean, with everything you've just explained, the fact itself makes sense now. It's just…this is still a lot to process," Bonnie finally found the presence of mind to speak.

"I understand, Mom, really. I'm so sorry you both had to find out this way. I swear I wanted to tell you, both of us did, but we just…we were just too scared of how you'd react," Judy said apologetically while Stu just bowed his head in guilt.

"We saw what the news had been saying, Judy, what all those mammals on the street were saying. I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I couldn't imagine how it must've felt to hear what so many were thinking of you. We want to be here for you, but you need to understand, nobody in our family's EVER done something like this before. I mean, a bunny and a fox—" Stu proceeded to speak as well, before mentioning the deed itself snapped Judy to attention once more.

"I know, Dad. Believe me, I know. A bunny and a fox being together isn't normal. Heck, most everyone in Zootopia thinks it's downright unnatural, and I don't even want to think what some of the folks here must be saying right now. I never wanted to bring something like this down on anybody, least of all you and the rest of the family…but I can't help how I feel. Over the last two years, Nick has come to mean more to me than I ever thought a fox would, and if you were to ask him right now, he'd say the same thing for me. The two of us just click better than I thought was possible for two mammals of different species. We know how each other thinks, we know how to talk to each other, we have a deeper understanding of each other than you or likely anyone else could know."

"*sigh* We understand what you're trying to say here, Judy; but you can't just expect us to just get over this news and act like everything's back to normal just like that. I mean, you have to admit that no matter what you might be feeling right now, there's gotta be a part of you somewhere that realizes a relationship like this just couldn't work," Stu tried to say before Bonnie suddenly silenced him with a disapproving elbow to his ribs while Judy had instinctively brought a paw to her face to hide the fact she was getting teary-eyed again.

"I think what your father is trying to say, honey, is that while we want to support you as much as possible; we also can't ignore how we ourselves are feeling about this whole thing. You know our family has always been very traditional, very old fashioned when it comes to relationships; and this thing with you and Nick is just…it's just bringing to light a lot of new and different ideas and concepts that none of us have ever had to think about living out here," Bonnie attempted to clarify while Judy could feel the dreaded embers of that bitterness deep in her gut starting to act up.

"So what exactly is it you're trying to say right now, Mom? I can imagine everyone in town must be calling me a freak for this right now, and if it hasn't happened already, they might start assigning that label to you and all the kids too. Gossip just has a tendency to spread like that out here. So what are you suggesting the solution is? Keeping me here and trying to set me up with some buck and hope that'll make everyone think the family's normal after all?" the words just seemed to come out of Judy's mouth on autopilot. She could already feel the guilt writhing all throughout her body to listen to herself snap at her parents so badly when she knew they were only trying to help the best they could.

"Judy, nobody said anything about keeping you here or setting you up with anybody. We all know something so barbaric and selfish wouldn't solve anything. We're just trying to help you see this thing from our perspective and why we need to come up with a solution that can best help you get through all this," Stu tried to calm her down; but despite his sincerity, Judy just couldn't shake that burning feeling in her stomach.

"You make that sound so sincere, Dad; but I can guess what this is really all about. You're probably thinking I'm like this all because of Nick, like this whole mess is all his fault and keeping an eye on me will keep him away and fix me, right? You know, I was always afraid that somewhere in there, your whole issue with foxes hadn't really gone away, and now you must be thinking that he's gone and corrupted me, just like everybody else out there will be by tonight," Judy continued to further spout angrily, by this point not even noticing the confused looks on her parents' faces.

"Judy, you're not making any sense. This has nothing to do with our old feelings about foxes, you should know that. Even despite these circumstances, we don't think or feel any less about Nick; none of this can make us forget everything he's done for you these last two years. But we're just worried that the two of you may be going in the wrong direction pursuing a relationship like this, and in the end, you're still our daughter, and we're just trying to act in your best interest," Bonnie tried to sympathize with Judy, but the younger grey bunny wasn't having any of it by this point.

"You mean like how you did when neither of you supported me being a cop since I was a kid? Mom, Dad, I'm not some emotionally unstable or reckless teenager, okay? This isn't some kind of long-delayed adolescent or hormonal thing where I just go for the first male I see regardless of species. I know for a fact what I want out of life, and I know for a fact what I feel and for whom. Neither of you were there to truly see how things went the way they did for me and Nick, but that doesn't change the fact that they did. I know neither of you want to hear this, but for once, I'm not sorry. This is one of the few things in my life I've never felt more sure of: I love Nick Wilde, a fox, with all my heart, and I don't regret a second of it.

"I know full well what's in my best interest, and right now, that's being able to ride this nightmare out with the mammals I love; and that means you, the rest of the family, AND Nick. But right now, I don't know if I'm even able to do that. Even now, I don't even know if I'll still have a family here when this is all said and done, and right now, Nick is out there without me to look out for him," Judy finally let out the culmination of all her pent up emotions before finally gasping for breath while bowing her head in regret at the thought of being all the way out here while Nick was god-knows-where.

Looking back on her most recent outburst, even she couldn't rightfully say where all this culminated passion within her anger had come from. Had it been her way of finally expressing what she'd wanted to for the last entire year, the one thing she'd wanted to shout out to the entire world regardless of whatever consequences? Or had it simply been her last automatic instinct to try and appeal to her family that what she had was in fact as real as what her own parents had together? She honestly couldn't rightfully say.

But before she could focus anymore on that, she suddenly felt the familiar grip of her mother hugging her tightly; and she could tell from the way her shoulders were trembling that Bonnie was actually trying to stifle some tears of her own, all at once bringing Judy entirely back to the reality of what she'd just said.

"Please don't say that, Judy. Please don't say such a thing. Of course you'll still have a family here. There isn't a thing you could do in this world that would ever make you stop being our baby girl; not even loving a fox," Bonnie said in probably the most emotional tone Judy had heard from her mother in years. For so long, she'd always known Stu to be the more overly emotional of her parents while Bonnie had always been the much more level-headed one. So to see her words have such an impact couldn't help but tug at the grey bunny's heartstrings all the more.

"That's right. We're so sorry, Judy. We'd gotten so caught up in our own thoughts and feelings over this whole thing, trying to make you see our point of view; we didn't even stop to really think of yours. I mean, you're the one that's suffering the most from all this. I can't believe I'd actually go and forget that even for a second. I'm a big enough mammal to admit I'm ashamed of myself right now," Stu apologized as well before stepping in and joining Bonnie in holding their daughter tight. After a few lingering minutes of just taking in all the raw emotions the three of them were feeling through this one simple action, they'd all three finally managed to compose themselves enough to let go and continue with a thankfully better understanding of each other.

"Boy, I gotta tell you, I was NOT expecting today to turn out like this at all. But…I think it's safe to say we have a better understanding of this whole fiasco from all sides, right Bon?" Stu finally tried to brighten up the mood with as confident of a declaration as he could make while Bonnie was still trying to wipe away the last remnants of tears in her eyes.

Truthfully, to hear Judy even suggest that they would've ever disowned her tore her apart inside. While she'd never made much of a point to say so, in her time she'd seen her fair share of families that were once inseparable come apart over such petty things as what one of the children wanted to do with their lives, or who one of the children would come to love; and for so long she'd always swore she'd never let that happen to her family. And just now, hearing Judy's words had forced the kindhearted doe to realize that was exactly what was happening after all these years and all at once, like a switch in her head going off, did her understanding for Judy's emotions and her reasons for truly loving Nick grow that much stronger, like the textbook definition of an epiphany.

"That's right, honey. I can't even imagine what you must've been feeling like all day today with all this going on, and to have us saying the things we did, even suggesting the things we did…we're sorry, Judy," Bonnie further apologized, to which Judy firmly shook her head.

"Please, stop apologizing, you guys. I get it. You're right, this is bringing up a lot of new things that you're just not used to. I'm sorry I brought all this down on you and the rest of the family. But in the end, this is my life and my choice," Judy apologized herself before finally stating the bottom line with a newfound sense of calm and confidence.

"And we understand that, Judy. I won't lie, it's…it's going to take some time to really get used to, but I know we can't tell you what to do with your life either," Bonnie agreed, to which Judy could finally feel herself smiling again.

"I'm just…I realize this isn't going to be easy, Jude. I've lived so much of my life distrustful of foxes, and I'd be a liar if I said a fragment of that wasn't still there…but I know Nick is a great mammal, a great fox, and I know that everything he said about you the first time we met was from the heart, just like everything you said here just now. Ultimately, you know all we've ever wanted was for you to be happy…and if being with a fox like Nick makes you truly happy…aw heck, who are we to say otherwise?" Stu finally worked up the strength of heart to say, and the way Judy's eyes flared up with emotion to hear him say something so accepting almost made the overly emotional buck want to start crying as well. Just like his wife, Stuart Hopps now felt like he had such a stronger understanding of his daughter on this day.

"Thank you…thank you so much, you guys. You have no idea how much this means to me. For a while, I was really starting to think this was it; like we wouldn't be able to get past this and you'd never want to see me again and I'd be all alone," Judy was no longer afraid to admit; prompting another hug from her parents.

"Never, Judy. We'll always be here for you; don't ever forget that. With us and Nick at your side, you'll never be alone," Bonnie whispered comfortingly while Stu's ears suddenly twitched in a realization of his own.

"Speaking of which, where IS Nick right now? The way things were looking on the news, I was almost certain you both would've come when we called. Granted, the way things just went here, maybe it was better he—" Stu began to say before a single look from both Bonnie and Judy rendered him silent before he said something he'd instantly regret.

"That's right. The two of you were always so close, I'm amazed he didn't come along to at least provide you some moral support," Bonnie finally said in agreement while Judy's eyes just fell to the floor in sadness.

"Come to think of it, you said something earlier I don't quite get. You said that everybody will be thinking Nick 'corrupted' you by tonight. What does that mean?" Stu asked while Judy took a single deep breath to once more collect herself.

"Nick and I…we're no longer partners in the ZPD. Chief Bogo showed us probably the same news stories you saw. When we heard just how disgusted and hostile everyone sounded towards us, Nick…h-he…he resigned right there…to protect me," Judy began to explain, her voice cracking with emotion the further she went.

"He said…that since some people thought he got into my head and basically tricked me into being with him, if he were to resign, it would allow the ZPD to play up that story, and then the blame would be taken off my shoulders and I'd just come out as the blameless victim while he gets all the heat. I wanted to resign with him, but he wouldn't let me. He said he didn't want me to throw away everything I'd worked toward for his sake, and so that I could be able to continue working the case we had without fear of being attacked by the public. Even now, I wish I could've just taken off that badge and gone out there with him, because at least then I would know where he is and make sure that he's safe."

As Judy continued on, Bonnie and Stu both felt their hearts sink. It was just incredible to behold. Even when faced with the vitriol and hostility of an entire city like Zootopia, Nick didn't even waste a second to step right out into the thick of it all, and all for Judy's safety. If only that fox could've been here right now to hear the gratitude they now were wishing they could express to him for doing something so incredibly dangerous yet selfless for their child. If they hadn't gone as far as to officially welcome him into their family a year ago, he would've certainly more than earned it tenfold by now.

"Have you heard back from him at all since then?" Bonnie asked, to which Judy gave a weak nod.

"He texted me on the train ride over here. One of the only other officers left that actually likes us is looking out for his safety. He'd told me he'd just stopped by City Hall to get some info on a lead I can follow relating to our current case," she explained while Stu and Bonnie shared a mutual glance of surprise.

"You mean, even though he isn't a cop anymore, he's still trying to help you out with your work?" Stu asked while Judy had instinctively turned her gaze to the landscape outside the window.

"That's right. Even without a badge, he's out there as we speak, probably trying to investigate as best he can for me while I'm all the way out here. That…that dumb fox even said so himself that helping me is an old habit he can't break," she mused mainly to herself; her small mouth curving into a deeply touched smile; one which she didn't even realize her parents were starting to form themselves.

"Even if the two of you aren't officially partners anymore, are you still going to be living together, in spite of what you said might happen once your chief talks to the press?" Bonnie suddenly asked; drawing Judy's attention away from the horizon.

"Of course. If worse does come to worst once they give the news their story, there's no way I'm leaving Nick all on his own out on the streets. Heck, if it weren't for him making me keep my badge, I'd probably want to stay there with him just to make sure nothing happens," Judy didn't hesitate to admit; which surprisingly brought out a look of…unexpected determination in her parents' eyes.

"Well then I suppose it'd be best we help you on your way back to Zootopia before it gets too late then. But, there's something we'd both like to know first. Say you'll be able to solve this big case you're still in the middle of. What do you plan on doing then?" Stu offered before suddenly bringing up a question that Judy had been hoping not to have to answer this soon.

"You know, I've actually been asking myself that same question a lot today, and the more I think about it, the more I find myself accepting the answer. With everything that's going on, and the way everyone's started acting towards us in not even a full day over something that doesn't even have anything to do with them, and after all the times we've risked our lives to protect them…once we finally put this case to bed, I think I'm going to officially resign from the ZPD," Judy didn't even hesitate to say, and to hear such words being said out loud from Judy Hopps of all mammals nearly made Bonnie and Stu both do a double take to make sure they'd actually heard her right.

"Judy…a-are you sure that's really what you want—?""Yes," Bonnie began to ask, only for Judy to quickly cut her off, which only added to the overall shock of her declaration.

"I can imagine emotions must still be running really high with you right now, Jude. I'm sure with time you'll probably change your—""No," Stu also began to speak before being cut off as well. The sheer bluntness of what Judy was saying was somehow proving to be just as difficult to comprehend as her relationship with Nick, if the looks in her parents' eyes was any indication as they looked concernedly at each other.

"Judy…I have to admit, I think we both do, we're shocked. I mean, this is what you've wanted since you were nine. I mean, you were miserable as it was when you resigned the first time; you'd really want to go through that all again? You would really leave the ZPD behind?" Bonnie attempted to understand while Judy straightened herself so she was standing as tall and proud as she could.

"I realize how shocking it must be to hear me say that, Mom. Believe me; it isn't any easier for me to say than it is for you to hear. Yeah, for pretty much my whole life, being a cop was all I ever could've wanted out of life. You all saw me the day I left for Zootopia, I couldn't have been any happier that they'd accepted me. At the beginning, just to be able to wear that uniform, look myself in the mirror and say I was finally a real cop, I was on cloud nine. I was living the dream, and loving every second of it. But ever since I met Nick, I've done a lot of growing up emotionally, and made some…well, surprising realizations. I've come to realize that living the dream is great…but it can't compare to being able to live that dream with the people you love. Without him at my side as my partner…being a cop just doesn't feel the same as it did before."

With that hard truth out in the open, the living room was once more cast in a heavy silence. Bonnie and Stu still couldn't fully grasp it. Judy had always been so devoted to her dream, and to hear her saying such a thing as her willingness to leave it behind for another mammal, it almost seemed entirely unreal. It was just astounding to see for themselves just how much serious growing up their daughter had gone through in just two years. But at the same time, they both realized just how serious she was about everything she said. Looking toward themselves, neither of them could deny that were the two of them divided from each other, the once perfect life of being a carrot farmer just wouldn't be as fulfilling, as life affirming as it always had been before. And if that was the conclusion they themselves had come to, then what place was it of theirs to try and convince Judy otherwise?

"Well, honey, if…if that is truly what you want to do when this is all over, you know both you and Nick will always have a home here," Bonnie finally said with a supportive paw on her daughters' shoulder; Judy's eyes once again growing wide at the offer, especially being extended to Nick without any hesitation or falsehood in her mother's loving smile.

"You…you really mean that? You guys would really welcome us both?" Judy struggled for the words before Stu placed a sturdy paw of his own on her shoulder.

"Of course we would, Judy. We said it once before, didn't we? You're BOTH family, and we Hopps don't turn our backs on family," the Hopps patriarch said in probably the most fatherly affectionate way she'd ever heard him speak.

"The way you spoke about your feelings for Nick sounded just like me when I was your age, telling my parents how I felt for your father. And if you truly love him half as much as I did this bighearted lug back then, what kind of parents would we be to turn him away? Besides, you know the kids will be thrilled to have you two around full time," Bonnie finally got her real point of acceptance across; finally spurring Judy into wrapping her arms around both of them as best as she could; planting loving kisses on both their fuzzy cheeks.

"Thank you…thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much, you guys," Judy couldn't help but thank them over and over again while nuzzling her face into both their necks as they both held onto her in return.

"It's only what's right, Judy. After all, there's so much more I haven't gotten to teach you about carrot farming yet. And if I can make a city fox like Nick into a half-decent carrot farmer, none of the other old codgers in town will ever be able to top that," Stu piped in; earning an embarrassed chuckle from his daughter and his wife. When it came to lightening any situation with terrible country dad humor or sensibilities, Stu Hopps took the carrot cake as it were.

"Now I don't know if you went and got a round-trip train ticket on your way here, but the schedule here's been a little flaky the last few months, so what do you say we give you a ride back home ourselves, sweetie?" Bonnie then offered once it was clear that the mood had permanently lightened up between them and they could finally move on.

"You don't have to go that far for me. I can't ask you to keep the rest of the kids under the neighbors' attendance any longer than you already have. Besides, if it's all the same to you, I think the time alone will help me get my thoughts in order. Nick can be a lot more stubborn than you'd think, and if I'm going to convince him to go for a life out here in the Burrows, I need to be on my A-Game," Judy explained; even puffing her chest up with a deep breath as much as she could to visually emphasize how newly driven she now was, which immediately earned some understanding chuckles from her parents.

"Well, if that's really what you want, then at least let us drive you back to the station," Stu practically demanded; grabbing the keys off a hook on the wall before any other words could be said; already ushering Bonnie and Judy to follow after him.

For the first time in this entire wretched day, Judy actually felt a semblance of hope. It may not have been the solution to this monkey wrench in her and Nick's entire life that she'd been hoping for, but in the grand scheme of things, it sounded like the sanest option. Sure, it wouldn't be the same as working together to save the people of Zootopia on a daily basis, but as long as she and Nick could face every single day together, practically anything could be just as fulfilling. And of course a tiny part of her couldn't help but revel at the thought of getting to playfully torment the sly fox while adjusting him to life in the country. Two years' worth of delayed payback that right now sounded oh so fun.

 **Meanwhile, back in Zootopia…**

Clawhauser hadn't been kidding. It was a long way from City Hall to Angel Hills all the way in the Rainforest District. When your daily routine didn't necessitate an extensive amount of travelling from place to place, it was easy to forget just how large and expansive a city Zootopia really was. Especially when looking for a place as far removed as this one. If Clawhauser hadn't been so familiar with how to get there like he claimed to be, Nick wouldn't have been surprised if they'd ended up completely missing the one road to get there, which after the fact went on for nearly a whole other hour winding all the way around the entirety of the largest mountain in the Rainforest District before ultimately reaching the peak, where Angel Hills was comfortably nestled.

Upon first seeing the place, Nick couldn't help but be mildly impressed. He never once would've guessed a place like this was here. Yes, he knew the city of Zootopia like the back of both his paws, but that was mainly in terms of how to get around without being noticed, and where to find the better hidden places to do his former con-mammal business. Of course, the elderly and the terminally ill had little to no need for business with a swindler or a Pawpsicle bootlegger, so of course he never had a need to know where the retirement communities were. But now that he saw what Angel Hills really was, he couldn't help but imagine for a fraction of a second what a payload he would've gotten way back in the day from the residents here.

To say nothing of its exquisite real estate location, having by far the most stunning view in all of Zootopia, the place itself looked far less like a retirement home and more like an intricately and elaborately put together fusion of an ultra-wealthy private community and a luxury holiday community with that special jungle flare this district was so well known for.

"Dang, B.C., your grandmother was staying here? How could anyone afford to stay at a place like this? The view alone feels like it'd be 10 grand a NIGHT," Nick couldn't contain his almost childlike amazement as Clawhauser let out a dry little chuckle to himself.

"Well, Grandma was always really stingy with her money. Said she'd been saving every cent she made since she was 12, got it from her own folks. Needless to say, birthdays and Christmases were a little awkward when I was a kid," the cheetah couldn't help but reminisce, barely noticing Nick was already halfway out the door again.

"Wait, Nick; are you sure you don't need me to go in there with you? I remember this place has more of a careful eye for strangers than most other places, and they're bound to recognize my face, I could be able to help you actually get in to see Ms. Ramsbury," Clawhauser tried to stop him, but the almost concerning grin of confidence on Nick's face stopped his words in their tracks.

"Second verse same as the first: people might realize who I am if you're stuck to my side like that. As long as they think I'm just another random fox, I'll be okay. And besides, I'm a natural charmer; give me enough time to think of something, I'll convince them to let me see her no problem. Just keep the meter running, and make sure you have your cell on, JUST in case," the fox stated nonchalantly before finally stepping out and making his way for the front door.

Once inside, he was pleasantly surprised to find the place wasn't filled with that unpleasant sterilized scent he'd come to associate hospitals with. And on top of that, if the exterior kept the place from looking anything like a hospital, the interior only clinched the deal even more. Anyone who would've accidentally stumbled upon this place would've probably mistaken it for some kind of ritzy country club if not for the signifying plaque out front. But thankfully his sense of duty kicked into overdrive as he made a beeline for the reception desk, making sure to straighten his cap and sunglasses just to be on the safe side.

Upon pulling himself up to see over the rim of the desk, he was met by a single middle-aged wildebeest receptionist, who thankfully noticed him just as quickly.

"Good afternoon, sir. Can I help you?" she asked with an air of professional politeness, clearly not recognizing him, assuming she'd even seen any of the news. So far so good.

"Hello, miss. Sorry to bother you so suddenly, but I'm here to see one of your residents regarding some important business: a Miss Angela Ramsbury?" Nick asked with his own mutual air of politeness.

"Really? Visitors usually schedule with us ahead of time, since our visiting hours are pretty strict, and the long trip to get up here obviously can cut into that if they're not careful. Not to mention Miss Ramsbury never really gets visitors these days, and I can't say I've ever seen your face here before. Do you mind if I ask what this is about?" the wildebeest explained with no nonsense while Nick was trying to keep his confident demeanor going while silently worrying how close he was to getting found out.

"Yes, I understand your rules are very strict, and I apologize for not calling you ahead of time. This is regarding some very last minute business relating to her family out of town, mainly in regards to her estate. I'm just looking for some spoken confirmation on her part in relation to some of these affairs before we can move on to making anything official," Nick said with a fluidity even he was amazed by. He'd never cooked up a story this elaborate before on the fly. He could just picture Judy suggesting he seek a career as an actor if she could see him right now. Heck, maybe when he got the chance, he'd regale her with his little act of off-the-record investigative work and get showered with some Judy Hopps-brand praise. Just the thought brought the workings of a deeply satisfied grin to his muzzle.

"I see, so I'm guessing you must be her family's lawyer then. Never heard of a fox being a lawyer before, but obviously the world just keeps on changing. Forgive my skepticism, you're not exactly dressed like one," the receptionist continued to point out; but that fox's cocky grin never faltered.

"Yes, I'm afraid you haven't caught me on one of my better prepared days. Like I said, this is regarding some VERY last minute business that I only just came across. Between you and me, I'm working off the clock as it were," he brushed the suspicions aside, to which the receptionist thankfully looked relatively convinced.

"Well, I've been there before. We have Miss Ramsbury staying in room 24 in the northern wing. Be sure to make it quick though, visiting hours are almost over," she finally said before returning to her computer; and not wanting to waste the chance, Nick stepped down from the edge of the desk and nearly sprinted for the hall heading north; having to double back more than once along the way to follow the wall maps to make sure he didn't get lost.

' _Wow, what luck. You've still got that fox craftiness after all. Still, you'd think they'd at least call the family to double check. Somebody could get fired,'_ he began thinking to himself in disbelief of this lucky break before nearly overshooting the door labeled '24'. Taking a moment to catch his breath and collect himself, Nick couldn't help but be a bit nervous. Being on the smaller end of the mammal spectrum aside, from his experience, sheep and rams had tended to be some of the most biased and prejudiced species in Zootopia, if a little ball of fluffy evil like Dawn Bellwether was any indication. Whether this would go smoothly or not, he honestly couldn't say, but he knew he might as well find out after he'd made it this far.

Stepping inside, Nick found the room itself to be quite…quaint, for lack of a better word. It kept with the almost log cabin-esque aesthetic with the rest of the building, and the view out the window over looked from what little he could see, possibly a large waterfall grotto from the sounds outside. And resting comfortably in a single bed situated to be looking out that same window was an elderly looking ram whose wooly covering seemed to be on the verge of thinning out. Once Nick climbed onto a chair at her bedside, he could get a better look at a face that had clearly seen more than its fair share in its time. As bad as he felt about having to force her out of her sleep, he knew he had to do what he had to do.

"If you're the Grim Reaper, then I'm ready," the old mammal known as Angela Ramsbury suddenly said without even opening her eyes, nearly sending poor Nick tumbling his chair backwards in shock before she finally opened her tired-looking eyes and focused directly on him.

"Oh, um, n-no, miss, I-I'm not the Grim Reaper," he felt the need to say so while she just looked him up and down as if to size him up.

"Well in that case, dear, you need a breath mint something awful," she wasted no time saying; leaving the fox utterly speechless. For a ram in her late sixties, she sure had the kind of rapid fire snark that he'd kill to have.

"no, Miss Ramsbury, I'm sorry to disturb you like this, but I have some questions I need to ask you. See, I'm a—" he began to explain himself before suddenly realizing the obvious. With his poor track record with rams, it was a good possibility she possibly had been catching up on the news and might refuse to cooperate with him if she knew who he was. Already, his mind was racing to cook up another story.

"Well I'll tell you what I'm not, son, a mind reader. Speak up," Angela suddenly said impatiently; snapping the fox back to reality.

"Of course, sorry. See, I'm a journalist, I'm writing an article for the paper about this arson case that's been occurring throughout the city these last couple weeks, and to get all the info I need, I looked into an older case from ten years back that may have shared the same culprit, and I found out you were his psychologist at Cliffside, so I thought you might be able to give me some information," he quickly managed to weave together an excuse, to which the elderly ram just let out a tired grumble from deep within.

"Figures, those suits at City Hall insist on holding onto everything. No wonder the old and tired can't get any rest these days. So you want to know about that Leonard Pantera, do you?" she cut to the chase.

"Yes. Anything at all that you can recall would be more than appreciated," Nick confirmed before pulling out a note pad from his pocket he'd momentarily forgotten having.

"Oh please, I'm old, not senile, I can remember plenty. So are you looking for info about Pantera himself or that old arson case he was involved with? I might not be much help on the latter, mind you," she forewarned while returning her focus to the window.

"Oh, of course, I'm just looking for information on Pantera himself. Like, what can you tell me about him during his time at Cliffside?" Nick immediately got to business with pen at the ready.

"Honestly, out of so many of the other patients at Cliffside I had to work with, Leonard was probably one of the surprisingly most docile. A majority of our patients were brought in for cases like dementia, schizophrenia, savagery, or violent psychosis. Cases like PTSD were an exceptional rarity, and yet that's what Leonard came in for," Angela began to explain, and already Nick's ears perked up in surprise.

"He was brought in for post-traumatic stress disorder? Was he a soldier?" Nick asked, to which Angela bluntly shook her head.

"No, nothing like that. According to his employment record, Leonard Pantera worked as an EMT for nearly 15 years at that point in time. Granted, over those fifteen years, being one who always keeps up on current events as I do, I know a lot of bad things had been happening all around the city far more frequently than they do now. Car accidents, hit and runs, fires, botched burglaries with mauling or gunshot victims, a lot of things like that. When I was finally able to get through to Leonard, he simply told me that the stress of some of the things he'd seen…the mammals he had failed to save…males, females…children; it all just finally caught up to him and drove him into having a complete emotional and mental breakdown one day while on the job."

"And that's what brought him to you," Nick came to the conclusion; only for Angela to once again shake her head in denial.

"That was a big part of it. What finally drove his colleagues and his family into bringing him to Cliffside was his one attempt to try and forget the pain. Poor Leonard had gotten heavily addicted to morphine and other painkillers. Anything that would, as he'd said, make all the faces and the crying go away even for a minute. I'd never once worked with a mammal that'd been so thoroughly broken by the unfairness and cruelty in this so-called evolved society of ours," Angela spoke with a surprising amount of sympathy the further she went on.

"So then, how exactly did everything end? With what you've just told me, I just find it unusual that he would go from a PTSD-stricken former EMT to an arsonist. It just doesn't really add up," Nick expressed his one remaining difficulty, to which Angela's face seemed to take on an air of understanding.

"That's how I felt as well when I first heard the news back then. Cliffside was just about to be closed down around the time my superiors had deemed Leonard's rehabilitation a success. And for all intents and purposes, he did seem to have made a successful recovery. For a short while after he was let out, he'd even stayed in touch with me, writing me letters to confirm with me he was still clean and had even gotten a new job with Hightower Real Estate," the old ram continued on; not even noticing Nick freeze up once she got to the end.

"Leonard Pantera got a job with Hightower?" he asked to make sure. Now this was a most unusual but fortuitous new link he'd definitely need to bring up with Judy ASAP.

"That's right, they'd started making a name for themselves in Zootopia, setting up businesses and refurbishing homes in a lot of those dangerous low income areas and really cleaning up the communities. One of the last letters Leonard had sent me was about how he'd gotten a job on their construction crew. I suppose he felt it would be a great way for him to help try and improve conditions in the city so the things he'd witnessed before wouldn't continue. But a few months after his last letter, that's when the news about him being responsible for a recent series of fires came out, and…well, I suppose the rest of your investigation into that case can tell you everything else."

Nick could tell revisiting these old memories was tough on the old ram, so with a contented sigh, he finished scribbling down the last of his notes and tucked them into his pocket.

"Thank you for all your help and time, Miss Ramsbury. This has been very useful for me. I think I'll see about setting up a meeting with someone from Hightower and see what else I can figure out from there. I'm sorry again to have disturbed you so suddenly," he politely bid her farewell before he began making his way for the door.

"Are you going to try and apprehend Leonard, Officer Wilde?" she suddenly asked; nearly making Nick jump at her unexpected question, and the frightening realization that his disguise and story didn't amount to jack.

"Oh don't act so surprised. Everybody else looks at you and that bunny partner of yours, Hopps, and all they see is the species the uniform is on. I've spent most of my life working one on one with other mammals, I pay attention to faces. But you don't have to worry, I'm happy to help whichever way I can. I think it's utterly ridiculous how everyone's getting all ruffled up by something that doesn't even affect any of them. I've seen plenty of once outrageous changes in our society in my time, and I've known plenty of mammals who were secretly in relationships with other mammals of different species. Frankly, the rest of the world needs to just wake up and accept that sometimes following your heart goes against what 'nature', whatever that's supposed to mean to them, dictates is normal for them."

While not saying anything, Nick could feel the painful knot in his chest loosening up just a little bit more, just as it had when Sherry had said the same thing just earlier today. It was always so relieving to know that even one more mammal in this city wasn't calling for his blood, or Judy's especially.

"That…I really appreciate hearing someone say so, Miss Ramsbury. We both do. I'm sorry for lying about why I came here," he couldn't help but apologize, which earned a surprising chuckle from Angela.

"Oh please, don't apologize like you're a little kit with their paw in the cookie jar. I understand. The way everyone's acting today, I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to advertise yourself to anyone. Now go on, off with you. You've got a case to solve, don't you? I still worry for Leonard in spite of all he's done, so please, when you do eventually find him, try not to be too hard on him," she requested, almost sounding motherly in how genuine she sounded, to which Nick nodded firmly in acceptance before finally continuing down the halls; a newly lit fire of encouraging determination under his tail as he didn't bother acknowledging any other spare mammals he passed on his way through the lobby and out the door; never once feeling the sensation of a single pair of eyes hidden in a corner of the expansive lobby watching him make his exit before turning their attention to their cellphone.

I just caught a glimpse of Wilde making his way out. Looks like I'm just too late, he must've already talked to her.

 _Well, given what happened last night, I suppose it was only natural they got that paper, hence why he's even there to begin with._

Do you want me to go after him? We know what a long drive it is to get up this mountain. I could still catch up and run him off the road.

 _Absolutely not. He's got a ZPD officer with him, we don't need to risk the firestorm killing them would bring. I've already got a little surprise set up for them. If anything, it should scare them enough that they'll choose to back off pursuing this case any further._

And what if it doesn't?

 _If not, there's plenty of ways to dispose of pests without drawing any extensive media or police attention. You let me worry about that. For now, you just do what you went there to do. If Wilde or Hopps decide to swing by again to try and get more information, we can't risk Ramsbury telling them any more than she no doubt already has._

Understood. It'll be quick, clean, look like natural causes. Nobody'll even notice me.

 _I'm counting on it._

 **Later that evening…**

Never before had Nick been so grateful to know the dirty back alleys and alternative routes of Zootopia as he was right now. Thankfully Clawhauser had the foresight to finally drop him off somewhere discreet, but not so far from his home that he'd have to risk stepping out into a majorly public area once Bogo's announcement at the press conference had been made. And keeping his eyes on all the major social media sites on his phone while waiting out in an alley near the apartment, the public response to the ZPD's 'official' story was just as volatile as he'd feared, if not more so.

He almost couldn't even keep count of how many times he came across the words 'fox hunt' or 'fox eviction' or 'fox detainment' or outright 'fox extermination' smattered all over various message boards. Tragically, not to his great surprise, this one little cover up story had brought out probably the worst he'd ever seen from the people of Zootopia. That just made his anger that they would latch onto and react to what he and Judy were doing to harm nobody else that much worse. If it hadn't been for the fact that Clawhauser, Sherry and Angela had openly expressed their support for him and his partner, he didn't even want to think of where he would be emotionally right now.

But before his mind could dwell any further on that, he thankfully caught a glimpse a familiar grey fuzzy face wearing an inconspicuous purple hoodie making her way down the sidewalk to their apartment; spurring the fox back to his feet as he swiftly joined her side; not even slightly perturbed that she momentarily tensed up when seeing something move in the shadows of the alley, only to then realize it was her beloved fox, visibly unharmed and without a single hair out of place.

"Good to see you made it here in one piece, dumb fox," she said as casually as possible while he could only grin in amusement that for all intents and purposes, she was as back to normal as could be.

"Glad to see mommy and daddy didn't chain up their little girl to keep the big bad fox away. You're definitely a lot more chipper than I thought you would be. What exactly happened out there?" he asked once he and Judy had let go of each other from their instinctive reuniting hug; both thankful that for the moment, nobody else seemed to be around to see them.

"Well…I think you'll be glad to hear…I've actually got some good news for once," she didn't hesitate to admit, glad that she visibly piqued her fox's curiosity.

"Yeah? Well, ditto to you, Carrots. I'm sure Officer Hopps will be glad to know I've got one heck of a lead for her," he admitted back; loving how her ears tried to spring up with excitement, but were visibly strained under her hood.

"Well, let's get inside before someone sees us and then we can spend all night talking about it," she announced while still remembering to keep her voice down as they began to head for the door into the lobby.

Suddenly, they both froze when both their cellphones simultaneously began to go off on vibrate. Not even thinking twice, they both pulled their phones out and opened them up to see they'd both received a single text message. And Judy and Nick alike felt their hearts seize up when they opened said message.

 **DON'T GO INSIDE**

 _ ***BKHOOOOOOOOOM!***_

In an instant, the once calming silence of the city at night gave way to an incredible deafening explosion that felt like it shook the ground beneath their feet to its very foundations; followed instantly by numerous fire alarms throughout the building blaring out.

With their heads still spinning and their ears still ringing, Judy and Nick both instinctively headed back out onto the street; recollecting their senses just in time to look up and see the windows they knew belonged to their apartment, blown out and consumed with raging flames and filling the air with a choking black smoke; bathing their neighborhood in its foreboding orange glow reflecting off the numerous shards of broken glass showered onto the street below.

Looking upon what was once their home now consumed in merciless flames, the duo of Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, who had always found a way to express their feelings and thoughts no matter how dire a situation was, found themselves at a complete and utterly shell-shocked loss for words.

Author's Notice:

 **Hello everyone. It's been a long time…far, far too long for my liking, and probably even more so for all of you.**

 **I apologize for having gotten all your hopes up a few months ago when I finally returned and was only able to post two chapters before going off the grid again. I wanted to focus on getting through another semester with good grades, which sadly didn't pan out. But now that that time is past me, I want to try and get back into the rhythm of finishing what I started, and giving you all the story that you all deserve.**

 **I'm currently back in gear and putting as much as I can into Chapter 9 with each passing day, and I'm hoping the further I go, the more I'll be able to do so that I can start uploading new chapters for you all to enjoy on a semi-regular basis.**

 **As someone who's always felt that writing was my only real talent in this world, nothing pains me more than to leave something I had a clear vision for go unfinished; and to especially leave all of you, who've shown me so much support since I started this trilogy nearly a year ago, and such unwavering loyalty in all that time despite my frequent bouts of silence, is nigh unforgivable.**

 **You all deserve so much better than that, and believe me, no matter how much time it may ultimately take, I intend to deliver. I can't make promises as to a date when I'll be able to start putting new chapters up again, but I want you all to rest assured that I am still here, and this story, and those to follow, have NOT been abandoned, and they never will be.**

 **Here's to the foreseeable future, that I sincerely hope you'll all be there to see and enjoy. I love you all.**

**Thank you for all your tremendous support.**


	9. The Hardest Decisions

**Hello once again, everyone. Well, now the ball has really gotten rolling here, hasn't it? The city has turned on our intrepid bunny and fox duo, forcing one of them to resign, Judy has come to realize a career without her partner isn't a career worth having, a whole new lead has been opened up for them to look into, but now it seems we have more than a few mysterious parties involved, some of which may or may not be against Judy and Nick. What REALLY lies at the heart of this mystery, especially now that the battle has literally been brought home and they're officially in the crosshairs? Only one way to find out.**

 **Thank you all for your continuous support. I hope this chapter meets all your expectations.**

 **Zootopia and its characters belong to Disney, not me.**

"Breaking news at this hour here in Zootopia. For those of you just now tuning in, there is confusion and panic aplenty in this small neighborhood in the heart of our fair city. We're coming to you live from the scene where not even an hour ago, what was once an ordinary tranquil night gave way to fear as an explosion erupted from this unassuming apartment building at 1955 Cypress Grove Drive. As of right now, it looks as though the fire originated from one apartment on the top floor. Thankfully, ZFD and ZPD forces arrived just in time, and as of now, no casualties or injuries have been reported. However, all is not as well as that would make it seem. According to testimonials of some of the residents, the apartment that was destroyed in the fire is said to be the home of recent controversial figures Judith Hopps and Nicholas Wilde, who have already been the focus of much animosity by the citizens in light of their recently uncovered interspecies relationship. While no confirmation from professionals has been given as to how the fire started, many have already begun to speculate this may have been a deliberate arson done in an attempt to inflict serious harm to the two, especially as not even two hours ago, ZPD Chief Bogo issued an announcement of Officer Wilde's recent resignation, which in the light of this recent controversy has stirred up many accusations from the public across social media of his potential responsibility in the matter; although no confirmation has been given by the ZPD in response. No one has claimed to have witnessed the two in the nearby area at the time of this incident, but as can be imagined, many questions remain unanswered. Where could the two be as of this moment? Could this indeed be a deliberate attempt at murder committed by one of our very own citizens, or could this in fact be at all tied to the serial arson case that even now has still been on the minds of Zootopia's population? We will continue to keep you informed on these recent events as more details become available."

As the numerous on-scene news reporters and bustling crowds of pedestrians and onlookers choked the streets surrounding the now evacuated apartment building of 1955 Cypress Grove Drive, officers of the ZPD were motioning crowds and passing traffic along as best they could while numerous ZFD trucks were hard at work putting out the flames as best they could. Amid all the commotion, no one ever noticed one of the ambulances sitting off a good ways from the majority of activity with its rear doors closed, with only a couple ZPD officers standing at its closed rear doors at attention.

Inside, Judy and Nick sat in uncomfortable silence in the back of the ambulance; their minds wandering while a couple paramedics made up of a zebra and an anteater were busy looking them over for any lacerations or signs of head injury; considering all the debris and broken glass that had littered the streets when they first arrived.

Throughout the whole process, Nick and Judy could only absently answer whatever questions the paramedics had as to whether their heads were still ringing or if they felt any kind of physical pain, to which the answer was always an automatic 'no'. As of right now, the two could only struggle to comprehend what had just happened still.

In the midst of everything that had been happening, not only today but since this whole arson case had landed in their laps to begin with, not once did either of them ever think that the blowback from any of it would ever follow them home. This was nothing like what they'd faced out on the streets every day for the past year, all one-on-one scuffles, car chases and very few needs for tranquilizer guns be shoved aside. It was hard to believe that within an entire year of being partners, they'd actually let themselves become complacent, comfortable and unguarded in the times they weren't wearing their badges. And to see the after-effects of their efforts literally blow up right in their faces and destroy their only true safe haven in this whole city was more than an immense wake up call.

While the two were still in a state of perpetual shell-shock, the two paramedics attending them were suddenly at attention when a heavy rapping at the ambulance doors sounded. Upon opening, they were greeted by Chief Bogo's hulking frame nearly filling in the doorway, his focus immediately on Judy and Nick.

"Everything's alright, I assume?" he immediately asked while the paramedics looked back at their two charges.

"Physically, everything checks out; no lacerations, burns, bruising or trauma. I'd say they really dodged a bullet having that fire occur when it did. Had it only been a minute or two later, I wouldn't want to think what could've happened," the zebra paramedic explained while Bogo gave a grim nod of understanding; the look in his eyes clearly expressing everything he needed as the two stepped aside and let him step inside before shutting the ambulance doors behind him, lest any nosy paparazzi catch a glimpse of who was inside. Now, the three were once again trapped within that awkward silence that had so sadly become commonplace between them today.

"Well, normally I would ask how the two of you are holding up, but circumstances being what they are, I believe that question answers itself. So, are either of you able to tell me what exactly happened?" the chief finally asked; thankfully snapping the two back to reality.

"We would if we knew any of the details, chief. I was waiting for Carrots to come back home, and when she did we were pretty much already on our way inside, but then Carrots got a text message saying to not go inside, and literally not even a second later, our place went up in smoke," Nick proceeded to explain as straightforwardly as possible; not liking the doubting look on Bogo's face.

"How long were you waiting outside? Did you happen to see anybody strange or unfamiliar going in and out of the building?" the chief didn't hesitate to ask.

"I never really paid much attention to my neighbors; rarely ever saw the landlord face to face the last few years. And besides, I wasn't even here a full hour before Carrots showed up. I pretty much had Clawhauser drop me off a couple blocks from here right before you made your big announcement to the angry mobs," Nick explained with a remorseful shake of his head; not even needing to look to see Bogo's stern and serious face slightly falter at the mention.

"It wasn't any easier for me to say than it was for either of you to hear; I trust you both understand that. Don't forget it was your idea to begin with, Wilde," Bogo tried to explain himself, only for Judy to quickly step in between the two, more just to steer them away from the painful truth now looming over their heads of what was now to come.

"Chief, please, let's…not talk about it anymore. It's done. Now we just need to focus on what's going on now. I still have the warning message right here," she interjected before fishing her cell phone from her pocket and giving it to the chief, who just looked it and the senders' number intently. At least, there SHOULD have been a number there. Instead, it was just a jumbling of random keyboard symbols and numbers; kind of like what would happen if someone stamped their paws on their keyboard haphazardly.

"Hmm…there isn't really a whole lot I can do with this myself, but maybe some of our boys in the tech department might be able to pull something from it," he said mostly to himself before quickly tucking Judy's phone into his chest pocket.

"We have a tech department? What, like cops that go around looking for hackers and stuff like that? I thought that kind of thing was only in the movies," Nick asked in honest surprise, to which Judy gave an equally surprised look as well. How had neither of them noticed that in the last two years?

"No surprise neither of you know about it. That department prefers to keep things pretty low key. And it's nothing as fancy as what the movies make it look like, but maybe they might be able to trace the message back to whoever sent it and saved your hides," Bogo briefly explained before sitting himself back down again with his hooves clasped together.

"Do you think it's possible this might've just been an honest accident, like a gas leak?" Judy, against her better instincts, felt the need to ask, only for the chief to give a solemn shaking of his head.

"We won't know for certain until the ZFD has the fire put out and we can conduct a thorough investigation, but the timing of it all is just too…convenient. With the way the public was reacting even before the press conference, as much as I hate to say it, the idea of one of the citizens, perhaps a civil servant like an electrician or plumber, someone with the hardware to get into your home and tamper with your gas lines, is not entirely impossible," the water buffalo explained with great reluctance as Judy and Nick shared solemn gazes with each other. Clearly, the painful thought had crossed their minds as well.

"You don't think it's possible Leonard Pantera might've done it? You know, like a warning, telling us to back off?" Nick asked; the flicker of desperation all too evident in his voice. Clearly, in spite of his outward cynicism, he didn't want to entertain the possibility of the public trying to outright murder him and Judy already.

"Unfortunately no. Victor Bullba had explained everything to me yesterday about what you all had uncovered about Pantera's plan, how he's pinpointing his arson locations to recreate Victor's old ZFD team brand. You both know I was largely involved in that old case as well, I know Pantera isn't the type of mammal to break from his pattern. It goes completely against everything he'd done before," Bogo proceeded to explain while Nick just bowed his head in resignation.

"So…what's going to happen now, chief?" Judy suddenly asked; wringing her paws together, instinctively feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, Hopps, you're not going to like it. If something like this has already happened this soon after the announcement, right on your doorstep, then it's clear that it's too dangerous to keep you on active duty," Chief Bogo explained; Judy's face unfortunately sinking just as he'd feared.

"What, you're going to put us into some kind of…what, witness protection thing? Don't forget what we've already gone through this morning, chief. It's bad enough Nick had to quit, but now you're not even going to let me fulfill my sworn duty for both our sakes? Pantera is still out there, and I'm not stopping until we have this case shut for good," she immediately protested while Nick could clearly see all the hardship was finally getting under Bogo's hide.

"And how exactly do you propose you actually get the job done, Hopps? It was bad enough when everyone out there was simply protesting, but THIS? Clearly more than a few mammals out there are calling for you and Wilde's heads! Keeping you on active duty on the streets is far too dangerous. I said it before and I'll say it again, my responsibility is to both the public AND my officers, you and your ex-partner included! And even if NONE of this were happening, if your little romance was still under wraps, and your home still went up in smoke and this was in fact Pantera's way of telling you to walk away, then every professional instinct I have would be telling me to take you off for your own good, because the last thing any ZPD officer needs is to pursue a case out of some personal vendetta, clouding their better judgment! You don't have to like it, Hopps, but it's the only real course of action I have left. Until further notice, you're to be taken off active duty."

Neither Judy or Nick could believe what they were hearing. So quickly, before anything could've even been said or done, all their efforts were for nothing. Everything Nick had tried to do for his partner so she could at least keep living the life she deserved, gone. Every hope Judy had of being able to close this one last case before finally turning her back on this city and looking toward the life she knew she really wanted, gone.

"Please, wait, chief. Don't you think you might be jumping the gun here? You can't just drop this case on someone else after all the work we've done on it. They don't have the same information we do. I was just able to come up with a solid lead on it today I doubt anyone else would've," Nick suddenly said in a manner similar to pleading; prompting a surprised glare from the chief.

"What? You mean you've been out there after verbally resigning, using one of the few ZPD resources I could spare to essentially—" Bogo began to ask accusingly before Nick suddenly silenced him with a raised finger.

"Don't start with anything about 'vigilantism' or 'civilian interference' or anything like that with me, chief. You can't seriously tell me you thought I'd just leave my partner with all the nothing we had to work with once the badge was off, can you?" he tried to appeal to the buffalo, who just let out a frustrated grumble of defeat; knowing it was pointless to lie to the fox.

"No, I can't. But don't think that just because I was able to excuse you and Hopps' little act of vigilantism two years ago with the Night Howlers means I can afford to look the other way this time. Things being the way they are right now, I need to absolutely enforce the rules that have kept the ZPD standing now more than ever," the chief firmly stated his case while Nick just bowed his head; unable to help but feel a little bitter at the thought of those 'rules' being what got Judy so much ridicule at the paws of their so-called comrades in the first place.

"Would the two of you please just stop? Yelling about who is and who isn't doing what isn't helping anything. Nick, what'd you find?" Judy finally intervened; thankfully rendering Nick and Bogo alike silent and cooperative.

"I went to talk to that Angela Ramsbury over at Angel Falls, and she told me a lot; mainly about him being a former EMT with post-traumatic stress issues, being sent to Cliffside for major painkiller addiction as a result of it, and how he even got a job upon his release with Hightower Real Estate shortly before the original case started," Nick went on to explain; not noticing the look of surprise on Bogo's face.

"How exactly did you know where to find Miss Ramsbury, Wilde?" he suddenly asked; instinctively pulling out his own notepad and pen.

"When I was chasing after that mammal in the City Hall records hall last night, they dropped a piece of paper right before I lost them, it had all this info on Pantera; which Carrots said your copy didn't. That's how we found out he'd been held at Cliffside and who his chief psychiatrist was," the fox explained with thankfully a more cooperative tone while Bogo looked like he'd just stricken some long-hidden information paydirt.

"And Miss Ramsbury, you're positive she said that Hightower was where Pantera had gone upon release?" he went on to ask; while Nick and Judy looked mutually confused where the chief's new sense of determination had come from.

"Yeah, she said so right to my face. Why do you sound so surprised, chief? You worked on the old case, I would've assumed you knew that if you were looking him up," Nick didn't hesitate to ask.

"Yes, you would assume that to be the case, but nobody from Hightower ever came forward once while me, Victor and the others were trying to find him," Bogo explained; sounding just as surprised as they were.

"Well, hang on. For now let's assume that Pantera won't stray from his big plan, so the possibility of him striking the same locations he burned ten years ago that ended up being bought by Hightower as a way of going after them is out of the question, right?" Judy began to theorize before the chief gave her an affirming nod; neither he nor Nick having any idea where she was going with this.

"So now one question that's still bugging me is that the ZPD's copy on the WXH-8 case mentions Hightower purchasing those properties in the aftermath, and yet our copy of the file on Pantera himself never mentions him being employed by them, or who his psychiatrist who knew about it was. And then on top of that, whoever that mammal was you chased after at City Hall was clearly trying to make off with that same info. So the question is, what exactly is there in the connection between Pantera and Hightower that he wouldn't want us to know about?" she finally reached her point; ears upright as though she were ready to hit the road right now and find out.

"It does bring up some very interesting questions, which I intend to get answers to once we've gotten your protection situation taken care of," Bogo agreed before immediately getting right back to the matter Judy had hoped her line of deduction would've helped him forget.

"C'mon, chief, are you serious? Who else would've been able to come up with a clue like that? Is there seriously nothing you can do, no strings you can pull to at least let Carrots continue undercover or something?" Nick protested, almost sounding like he was pleading; trying to ignore the pained look in Judy's eyes that he wasn't at least trying to think up some way they could at least continue on together off the record. Just the mere fact it reminded her of what was still happening in spite of all these new developments made it that much more painful to listen to him.

"If there even were any alternatives, do you think I wouldn't be trying to use them, Wilde? I realize all too well the disadvantage we give ourselves by putting this case on another officer. But you need to start considering all the factors at work right now. You two are in the crosshairs of pretty much the entire city, and the ZPD as a whole is right in those sights with you. We made some leeway by doing what you said and pinning the blame solely on you in the eyes of the public, Wilde; but the scene outside clearly shows it wasn't good enough for at least one mammal out there. So if the two of you are still being targeted and we don't know by whom, then having either one of you continue to work becomes impossible. And that aside, if I were to neglect my responsibilities to the public and to my officers by allowing Hopps to be in harm's way, it's not impossible that City Hall might decide to remove me from my position and place someone else there instead; someone who might not be as sympathetic to your plight. I'm sorry if none of those answers are good enough for you, but I'm doing the best I can to accommodate you two with what options I actually have!"

Before another word could be said, the inside of the ambulance resonated with a frantic knocking at the door; spurring Bogo to almost kick them open; his anger-fueled adrenaline pumped so hard, only to be calmed at the sight of a visibly worried leopard officer.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, chief; but the public and the press are getting especially restless. I don't know how much longer we can keep them from storming the scene more than they already have," the officer struggled to explain coherently while the chief looked to the bustling crowd up ahead in front of the burning building. After a few painfully prolonged moments of silence; his hulking shoulders sank with a defeated sigh before he looked back to the fox and bunny over his shoulder.

"Now both of you listen: I'm going out there to quell those ravenous bloodsuckers, and when I come back, we're setting you up in a safe house of the ZPD's choosing, and you will both remain there until we can bring this case to an end; and that is the bottom line, whether you like it or not. Afterwards, we can decide what's to be done with you that'll be able to ease the public back into some semblance of control. Now if you both know what's best for you, you will remain here until I return…or so help me, I'll lock the two of you up and throw away the sodding key if I have to."

With that, the cape buffalo stormed out the back of the ambulance and slammed the doors shut; effectively leaving Judy and Nick in an unbearable silence; both their heads hanging in disbelief. Disbelief…and defeat. No matter how much either of them tried to process what was about to happen, the words just couldn't come out. Was this really it? Was there seriously nothing else they could do? This was how all their hard work was going to end?

"I can't…I just…I just CAN'T BELIEVE THIS," Nick muttered in shock to himself before suddenly leaping from their cot and grabbing the first object he could get his paws on and throwing it at the ambulance doors as hard as he could; not even noticing how he made Judy jump back against the wall in surprise while he struggled to try and breathe while his tail bristled in barely restrained anger.

"They can't do this! Not to you, not after everything you did to get this far! They're just gonna throw all that hard work away and lock us both up like some kind of…s-some kind of embarrassment and pretend we don't even exist until the city pulls their heads out of their collective rear ends?! THAT'S HOW THEY REPAY ALL THE TIMES YOU'VE PUT YOUR HIDE ON THE LINE?!" the fox continued to rave and rant; his green eyes darting this way and that for something else to throw in his frustration before Judy's tiny paws forcefully grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him back onto the cot beside her before planting herself firmly on his lap, but this time not in an expression of the need for comfort; but rather as a means to keep him from flying off the rails again.

"I KNOW, NICK. Believe me…I know. I really…REALLY, don't like it any more than you do…but what else is there either of us could do? I know you don't want to hear this, but Chief Bogo's right…we're the city's biggest social pariahs now. Even after what you did for me today, even if I were allowed to keep up the investigation, how far would I really be able to go? How do we know people wouldn't just be trying to lead me by the reins just to mess with me, if not worse? The fact is, we were only able to get this far by being sneaky, subtle…and after tonight…" she stated firmly and in the kind of no-nonsense tone that would always bring the otherwise mouthy fox in line. But as she continued to lay down the reality of where they were, the former bravado and authoritarian demeanor gave way to that of the painful realization that their options had now gone from numbered to downright nonexistent as her violet eyes fell and she rested her face against Nick's chest.

"Please, don't talk like that, Carrots. It's bad enough having one of us be a total downer. If you do it too…then really, what hope is there for us?" he tried to comfort her as only he could before gently pulling her in closer with a tender hug she thankfully returned; leaving the two in silence once again. After a few blissfully peaceful moments, Nick suddenly noticed the all-too familiar feeling of his oh-so emotional bunny trembling before her paws grabbed onto his shirt as tight as she could.

"Hey, c'mon now, Judy; don't start crying on me already. You said you had good news before, why don't we just try to focus on tha—" the fox began to say soothingly before one of Judy's paws grabbed onto the scruff of his neck and she swiftly raised her head and planted her muzzle to his in an unexpectedly intense kiss; the one thing she knew for a fact could always shut him up.

"I am NOT crying, Nick. This isn't…sadness, or anger or anything like that. I just…it's just like the paramedics said…we came so close tonight. A minute later, who knows if we'd even be here right now? Neither of us thought that would ever happen, and now that it has…I-I guess the realization's just finally hitting me all at once. I don't ever want to come that close to potentially losing you again, dumb fox," she explained as calmly yet seriously as she good; the struggle to keep her conflicting emotions in check far-too evident in the way her voice began to shake while she and Nick never parted their gaze from each other as he began running a paw down her ears the way he knew she always liked.

"I get it, fuzzy bunny; I do. I don't want to risk losing you, either. Tonight's got me more than a little shaken up too. But I don't know…do you really think you'd be able to live with just…throwing in the towel on this case? Just going into hiding and letting someone else finish what we started? Letting all this…this stupid and senseless animosity and persecution force us into hiding?" Nick tried to appeal to that deep sense of pride and responsibility he knew filled every fiber of her being.

"I want to say 'no', but…I don't think I know how to answer that anymore, Nick. I feel like I'm literally being torn apart between wanting to fulfill the duty I've dedicated my life to…and being able to protect the people I love. I don't know what's the truly 'right' thing to do here," the sullen bunny forced herself to admit; her voice low and defeated as she just plopped her head on Nick's shoulder in defeat while his piercing gaze burned through the walls of the ambulance, as if seeing something far beyond and coming to an epiphany…one that he knew deep in his gut he should've come to ages ago.

"Well…we weren't exactly protected by the badge in the beginning either…were we?" Nick asked rhetorically; a faint smirk tugging at his cheeks as he saw the wheels visibly turning in Judy's head before her violet eyes widened.

"Nick…are you serious? I-I don't know…I-if we aren't careful about this, and we get caught…we're not going to be let off the hook like last time. We'd both be fugitives," were the first words to naturally come to mind for Judy; but judging by the look on his face, she realized she was preaching to the choir.

"Well, then you'll really get to see what life was once like in my paws. You can't tell me the idea doesn't get you at least…a LITTLE excited? Not having to worry about protocol or guidelines or rules or what-have-you? We'd finally be able to take this case into our own paws and do what the ZPD clearly can't. And don't you even worry about us getting caught. You've got the complete encyclopedia of every back alley and alternative route in Zootopia at your disposal here," the fox attempted to spark her optimism; even wrapping a single claw against his head for obvious emphasis to which Judy couldn't help but smile.

"Who would've guessed someone who used to be so cynical could somehow be so infectiously optimistic?" she asked sarcastically as the two pulled each other in closer.

"What can I say? You're a bad influence on me," he wasted no time saying as the bunny in his arms couldn't help but giggle in amusement into his chest. However, once she was able to stop, the oppressing silence forced the both of them back to grim reality.

"Nick…if we do go through with this…and we're somehow lucky enough to get this case solved and put an end to everything…what'll we do then? I used to think the people in this city could learn to get past all their bias and prejudice if we helped them to recognize it. But after today, I'm not sure that's even possible anymore," Judy finally took the initiative while Nick looked to be running the options through his head.

"Well…nobody ever said we HAD to stay here forever. Once this is all over…who's to say we couldn't just turn right around and just head out there; you know, into the world and just settle on a new life for ourselves, where nobody would recognize us and we could just start over fresh," he ruminated on the most pleasant-sounding possibility while Judy instinctively smiled at the idea.

"You really think the chief wouldn't try to find us, bring us in for breaking the law? We're already on his bad side enough as it is; I wouldn't be surprised if he'd come after us personally," she couldn't help but suggest; practically feeling Nick's fur bristle against her through his shirt.

"Well, we foxes are typically known for being able to outwit those that would hunt us…but in his case, I don't think even that would be enough," he couldn't help but admit; not noticing the look of remembrance and the resulting smile on Judy's face.

"Well, okay, for now let's just assume it doesn't get that far. If we're talking about leaving Zootopia for good, I just remembered we've got a perfect solution," she stated; causing Nick's ears to instantly perk up.

"Ah, that long-awaited good news of yours. Better late than never, I guess; so lay it on me," he said hurriedly, as if expecting something else to interrupt them at the last second.

"When I visited my parents earlier, it didn't start out pretty. Needless to say, what we're doing…well, hasn't ever happened in my family before, so obviously it was a lot for mom and dad to wrap their heads around. But the important thing is that once all was said and done, I think it's safe to say they at least understand where both of us are coming from, and want to do whatever they can to support us," Judy finally proceeded to explain as Nick's expression slowly grew in astonishment at what he was hearing.

"Wow…I mean, I know your folks haven't been calling for my head or anything like that, and granted they even said they looked at me as family, but I would've sworn this would destroy all that. It looks like I have a lot of assumptions to apologize for next time I see them. So what does this have to do with our…well, lack of future plans?" he confessed while Judy's smile couldn't but brighten that much more as she went further on.

"Well, I'm pretty sure my dad will have some apologies of his own to make as well. Anyway, in the end, they said that we were both welcome to stay in Bunnyburrow with them for as long as we wanted. And yes, I made sure to ask they really meant both of us. In spite of this, they still think of you as part of the family, Nick; so you can at least know we'll both have a place to call home once this is over," she finally said with the most optimistic smile she'd had all day; a sight Nick didn't even realize before just how badly he had needed to see.

"Well then, looks like we'll have to get to work on solving this thing ASAP. Wouldn't wanna keep the parents waiting, would we?" the fox broke the silence with an enthusiastic grin; bringing his partners' ears straight up with optimism and excitement.

"So do I take that to mean my needy fox has no objections to life out in a…oh, what were the words you used; 'A tiny carrot-choke Podunk' from now on?" she felt the need to tease him; harkening back to the first real encounter they'd ever had; bringing a nostalgic look to Nick's eyes.

"Not from me, you won't. Can't say I expected I'd be the one running with my tail between my legs to be a carrot farmer…but things going how you expect them to is boring anyway," he relented; bringing some much needed mutual laughter out of both of them; finally easing the otherwise inescapable dread that'd plagued this day for the two mammals. However, both their faces returned to their deep and serious expressions once the laughter had died down; no other witty quips to be found between them.

"Judy…are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this? I don't mean this case, I mean what we do after. Are you really sure you'd be okay leaving this city and never coming back? I mean, after everything you did to—" Nick hesitantly began to pry into what was going through Judy's head before she lifted her face from his chest; the depth in her eyes rendering him silent.

"Nick, please…just this once…please just stop talking; the answer's yes. I've had all day to think about it over and over, and you know what? I can say I'm fine leaving Zootopia behind forever a lot more easily than I ever thought I could. Yeah, I'd be lying if I said not being a cop anymore didn't at least partially leave me considerably miserable; but if the alternative is having to keep serving the same people that say we're wrong or depraved for feeling the way we do when they have no right to, I'd rather take the option that doesn't leave us fearing for each other's lives…at least as much," she stated with unexpected confidence and integrity to her words; instilling a swelling of pride in Nick's chest to hear her speak with such courage. It didn't matter to him anymore if a good portion of her reasoning was undoubtedly selfish; it was still an admirable showing of just how loyal she always was to the things she believed in, and how unwilling she was to betray her own feelings for the sake of maintaining something as ultimately superficial as a career.

"But what about you? This morning you sounded like you'd never forgive me if I even thought of throwing my badge away; but now you didn't even waste a second suggesting we go vigilante," the otherwise determined bunny suddenly pointed out with some reluctance of her own; only now remembering just how much her staying true to her dream had meant to her partner when he left.

"Yeah, well, that was before I knew they'd be forcing you on the sidelines and not even letting you finish this case yourself. But now we can take this case into our own paws, and we still get to work together doing it, so I guess we both still get what we want, albeit in the most roundabout way possible," Nick admitted; barely able to crack even a wry smirk at the irony of where they now were and just what lay ahead.

"Seems like it. So, with that all being out in the open, what do you say we get out of here while we still can and get to work, partner?" Judy asked; an unmistakable kind of excitement evident in her voice as the gravity of what they were about to do behind the ZPD's back was finally registering all at once.

"Agreed, but the question is where do you think we should start, Ex-Officer Hopps?" Nick asked with matching enthusiasm while the wheels were already fully spinning in his bunny's head.

"Well, we can't exactly follow up on whoever it was that warned us about our apartment through our phones; especially now that Chief Bogo has mine. Maybe if we were really careful about it, we could go back to that retirement home in the Rainforest District and see if there's any more info Miss Ramsbury might've forgotten to tell you—" Judy already began running the options mostly to herself, only for Nick to snaps his fingers with a disappointed sigh.

"I don't think that's possible, Carrots. The nurse in the lobby got a pretty good look at my face, and let's just say the story I gave her to let me in isn't exactly gonna fly if I suddenly show up with another new face. Plus I'm pretty darn skippy the security cameras have me recorded," he admitted; and while the gray bunny's ears slightly drooped, they immediately straightened back up as she returned to her thoughts.

"Okay, well with that being the case, we've only got two leads to go on: we follow up on what Miss Ramsbury told you and see if we can contact anyone from Hightower so they can tell us whatever they might know about Pantera," was the first option that came to mind as she continued pacing across the back of the ambulance.

"You really think that's a good call right now, though? From the sounds of it, Hightower's pretty high profile around most of the city, and if they're a known contributor to Mr. Bullba's campaign, I can't imagine he wouldn't be there right now trying to salvage what he can because of…well, us. And if he's there, I'd bet a nickel the paparazzi would be there too, just waiting for someone to show up that they can probably lump him together with for some old fashioned muckraking. Again, namely us. So, would it be alright if I suggest we put that option on the backburner for now?" Nick regretfully pointed out; making Judy stop in her tracks at the realization of the sense he was making.

"Well in that case looks like all we can do is hit City Hall and check the traffic cameras. Regardless whether it was Pantera or not, I wanna see who's responsible for lighting up our home," she stated firmly; as if the decision had already been made; already trying to open up the small window connecting to the driver's seat before Nick pulled her back.

"Not so fast there, Cottontail. I agree, we should follow up on that, and given the circumstances, it's really the only lead we can follow up on. But at least wait for me to try and hopefully make things a little easier before you do something we'll both regret, okay? But before I do, please look me in the eye and promise me you're not gonna go after whoever we find on those feeds; assuming we even find anyone? You know what those up-the-chain ZPD muckety-mucks say about letting personal feelings get in the way and all," Nick tried to speak reasonably; and while Judy for a second looked incredulous, if not downright insulted, her expression thankfully softened as she took a moment to calm her nerves and more importantly get her head back down to Earth.

"Yeah…yeah, I know, you're right, Nick. A vendetta isn't going to solve anything. I just…I just want to be sure. I need to know for sure if it was Pantera or not, and if not, I at least just want to know the face of whoever it was that tried to kill us. If I can't at least get that answered…well, I don't think I need to tell you the rest, right?" Judy reluctantly admitted; to which her partner thankfully nodded in understanding.

"You don't have to explain anything more to me, Carrots. So let's go find out who our mystery houseguest was, put this case to bed the way it should be…then let's go home," Nick proclaimed; earning a deeply thankful smile from Judy as he pulled out his cell phone; already rapidly tapping away at buttons.

"Hey, that reminds me, thanks for telling the chief I was the only one that got that mystery text so he'd only take MY phone," Judy suddenly piped in; a sly smirk on her face as Nick just rolled his eyes with an amused chuckle.

"My bad, Carrots. Couldn't afford to let Mr. Tall-Dark-And-Surly go perusing through my old contacts. Don't need him making any more negative assumptions than he no doubt already does," the fox playfully apologized before Judy just brushed it off and sat beside him; her little body tensing up as if she was just waiting for them to take off into the night.

"Just know that if he takes it apart, and they can't put it back together, you owe me a new phone, sly fox," she wasted no time commanding; in that fake authoritative tone Nick never told her he loved so much.

"Okay, okay, and I'll even replace all the playlists out of my own pocket if it'll make you happy, cheeky bunny," he relented as he began scrolling through what looked like a phonebook of his old contacts on the outside of the law.

"Why thank you, Nicholas, that's very generous of you. Now, what exactly are we still doing here? Frankly I'm surprised Chief Bogo's been out there for the press this long; I don't think we should push our luck much more," she accepted instantly; before her otherwise playful mood settled back into seriousness as her gaze began shifting to the ambulance doors.

"Don't get those big ears in a twist, Carrots. I'm just sending out a little call for help; seeing if I have at least one old friend left in this town," Nick explained before the familiar ping of a text being sent sounded from his phone. The next few seconds felt like they dragged for minutes; Judy's apprehension steadily growing worse before another chime from Nick's phone caused both their ears to perk up as the fox wasted no time reading it.

' _What do you want, Nick?'_ was all it read, next to a truly unflattering photo of a very familiar fennec fox.

' _Hey, Finnick, long time no see,'_ Nick immediately replied with as much formality as a lousy text could manage, with Finnick once again responding almost immediately.

'You're telling me, over a whole year with nearly not so much as a word from you. I've been having to hustle these overgrown suckers by myself! You think anybody can pull off that dad-and-baby sob story act half as good as you? No! You've been leaving me to dry out here, pal. So whatever this is, it better be good.'

' _Yeah, sorry about that, old buddy. Life kinda threw me for a loop after last time.'_

' _I'll say. You and that obnoxious little bunny have been jamming the airwaves on my radio all day long. As if putting on a badge weren't enough, you turn out to have a REAL thing for "carrots" too. You're takin' a real risk contacting me like this. You know the cops are probably gonna be tapping your phone. So whatever it is you need, you make it quick.'_

' _Well, we haven't done anything that would warrant the ZPD to start tapping our phones or anything like that, but you're right, time's a factor here. Listen, I know I don't deserve to do this after pretty much ditching you, but I need a favor. Me and Carrots…we need a ride somewhere.'_

' _Whoa, hold up, ain't no way I'm takin' a cop in my ride. Half the stuff I got sittin' back there ain't accounted for or anything, I don't need that headache on top of everything else.'_

' _We're not cops anymore, Finnick. We're leaving our badges behind. It's a long story, I'll tell you on the way, I promise. Please, we don't have anybody else to turn to right now. You've gotta help us, just this once. For old time's sake?'_

' _Wow, you really gotta get some new material if you wanna keep convincing folks to do you favors, Nick. Just be grateful I've known you as long as I have. But you only get this one. After that, I gotta keep my head down, and so will you and your little girlfriend by the way the news is talking. So where are you?'_

' _If you've been keeping up with the most recent news…I think you have a good idea.'_

' _Lot of eyes out there. You think there's any way you can meet me near Costa Park? That's the closest place I can think of where there wouldn't be too many folks walking around this hour. Be there in no less than ten minutes, or I'll have to keep moving, and you're on your own.'_

' _We'll be there, you can count on it. Thank you.'_

' _Just be there.'_

With that, Nick closed his cell phone, closed his eyes and took possibly the deepest breath Judy had ever seen him take; as if it was all to steel his nerves for the point of no return they were about to cross.

"Alright, Carrots, we've got a one time ride, and not a lot of time to catch it. So follow my lead, move when I say to move…and let's get back to work, partner," Nick immediately went into full serious-mode as he slid open the window to the drivers' seat as quietly as he could before Judy immediately squeezed her way through.

"Right behind you…partner-in-crime," she replied with another sly grin; to which Nick couldn't hide his own as he squeezed in after her, and upon making sure the coast outside was clear, they both quietly stepped out the driver-side door and quickly scurried into the nearest alleyway; disappearing into the late Zootopia night.

 **Well everyone, there's Chapter 9 at long, long, LONG last. It was originally going to be much longer, but given what a turning point in the story this is supposed to be, I felt this much was efficient, plus I was tired of making you all wait for so long. From this moment on, Nick and Judy are no longer protected by the law; being forced into the same circumstances their partnership first began.**

 **From now on, while the chapters may not be as long as they have been in the past, this will at least guarantee I can keep up a semi-regular posting schedule; granted nothing in real life gets too much in the way for me to continue. Again, I can't apologize enough for making you all wait so long, and I can't thank you enough for being patient and sticking with me through all this.**


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